YuGiOh 5D's: Titanic Impact!
by Kima73
Summary: Zeke, Akira, and Casey, also known as Team Inferno, have entered the WRGP. As each day passes, things get stranger. Destruction is everywhere and they'll soon learn that they have been caught in the middle of a war that shall decide the fate of the world.
1. Chapter 1: Getting Started

_**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**_

A/N: Since it was brought to my attention that Mystical Knight of Jackal's effect was overlooked, I made a small edit to the part of the duel in which it activates. No true change in the duel's outcome, but it had to be fixed. Also, let me explain a few things.

First, this is a sequel of my previous story, YGO 5D's: Warriors of the Sky.

Second, the **Card Album** only shows the cards that I have created and am using in this story.

Third, when dueling, you'll see the Life Points of the duelists shown like this: (Story character-Opponent). The Life Points of the opponent shall always go second, even if the opponent starts off the duel.

_Theme Song: Dedicated by Linkin Park

* * *

_

**Chapter 1: Getting Started...**

In the streets of Central Neo Domino, was a young girl walking around. She was around 19 years of age, dressed in a bright red shirt, blue jeans, a pair of yellow-green sneakers, and a black leather jacket. She had her long black hair tied in a ponytail, and she wore a locket with the japanese symbol for 'Life' on the front of it. It was her most prized possession, and she always took extreme care of it, making sure nothing bad happened to it.

As she walked through the streets of Central Neo Domino, she kept looking around for the cafe that she was going to, though she seemed lost in thought. Fortunately, she managed to snap out of it and walked into the cafe before she missed it.

As she walked in, she noticed just how busy it could get at this time of day. She move about through the crowd until she got to a couch that was in a lounging area near the far-left corner of the store. She sat down and looked at the people around her. One of the people that was in front of her got up and left. She guessed that he was in a hurry to get back to work. Now, there were only three others around her.

One was sitting in a chair a few feet away from her. He was busy listening to the music in his headphones, and since he had his eyes closed, he was cut off from the rest of the world.

The other was sitting on the couch in front of her, lying down on it as if it were a bed. His spiky silver hair, his dark clothes, and Gothic accessories made him stand out, but people still seemed to ignore him.

The last one was sitting on the other side of the couch she was on. He had short black hair, which seemed to have been cut recently, wore a white shirt with a grey sweater over it, and some dark blue jeans. Both he and the silver haired man across from her looked at her.

"About time you got here." said the one next to her. "We've been waiting almost an hour."

"Sorry," she replied. "I got held up a bit."

"Well, you shouldn't have." said the one across from her. "You know that we need to get ready for the World Riding Grand Prix. You may know how to turbo duel, but these duels will get intense, and I'm still not sure if you can handle it."

"Of course I can handle it, Zeke!" replied Casey. Truth was that she was already nervous about this, and their criticism wasn't helping her feel better.

"Yes, but we can't afford any injuries. You know that with only us three, if something goes wrong, we'll be disqualified. Especially since we wouldn't be able to get our hands on a back-up duelist. After all, we've being trying to get a fourth member for a few months now, and so far, we've had no luck." said Akira.

Even though she hated it, she had to agree with him.

"Alright, so what are we going to do?" she asked them.

"Well, we've already signed up for the World Cup, and we've got a team. All we need to do now is try and recruit some another member. Although I doubt today will be better than any other day..." said Zeke.

"I'm a bit nervous, though." she said. "I mean, have you seen all the people that will be competing? Are you guys sure we can do this?"

"Of course we can." they said.

She signed, still nervous about all of this. The competition was in less than two weeks, and they weren't fully prepared. Whenever she got nervous, she'd always play with her locket with her hands. At the end, she'd always feel a bit better about things.

The three of them got up and left the cafe, each one going to deal with the things that needed to be done. Akira went back to their apartment to do research on the other teams and keep up with the current events. Zeke went to the town and pick up a few supplies, from groceries, to tools, to dueling equipment that they would need. Casey, however, was stuck having to look for a fourth member.

* * *

It was almost five in the afternoon, and Casey hadn't found anyone who would be a good addition to her team. She had been dueling many people for hours now, and she was getting tired. She was about to give up, when she saw someone in a duel not too far from her. Despite not being able to follow them on the highway, she slowed down on the side of the highway, so she could better observe the duel.

It was a duel between two rivals. One was named 'Twist', due to his confusing dueling style. The other duelist was one named Blake Anderson.

* * *

(Twist: 2400-Blake: 3700)

The two duelists were on the verge of finishing this duel.

On Twist's field, there was:

-Ghost Knight of Jackal (1700/1600) in attack mode

-Mystical Knight of Jackal (2700/1200) in attack mode

-Manticore of Darkness (2300/1000) in attack mode

-Vorse Raider (1900/1200) in attack mode

-Two spell and/or trap cards

* * *

On Blake's field, there was:

-Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000) in defense mode, equipped with the equip spell, Horn of Light. (800/2800)

-Snipe Hunter (1500/600) in defense mode

-Roc from the valley of Haze (2400/1400) in attack mode

-The continuous spell, The Dark Door, activated

-The continuous spell, Banner of Courage, activated

-The trap card, Torrential Tribute, face-down

-The continuous spell, Guardian Treasure, activated

* * *

At the moment, it was Blake's turn. Though he had the most life points, Twist's field would quickly tear him to shreds if he didn't do something this turn. He drew his next card and looked at his hand. He only held Fissure, Return from Different Dimension, Chaos End, and Inferno Tempest.

"I'll start by placing one card face-down. Next, I'll have my Roc attack your Manticore of Darkness!" Due to the effect of Banner of Courage, Roc's attack points rose by 200 points. The large bird spewed out a purple fog of corrosive breath that surrounded Manticore and reduced him to nothing.

"Next, I'll use Snipe Hunter's effect! I get to choose a card on your field and roll a dice. If the result is not a 1 or a 6, then that card is destroyed." He pointed at Vorse Raider, and rolled a dice. The plan was to stop the Manticore from being special summoned so easily. The holographic dice spun around multiple times, before landing on a 1.

Though this part of the plan didn't work, he was satisfied with the way the duel was going. "I'll end my turn now."

Indeed, Blake was at a loss. His defenses were good, but how long would they last?

"Thanks to Manticore's effect, I get to sacrifice my Ghost Knight of Jackal to special summon him back to the field." Manticore appeared with a loud and mighty roar, as it took Ghost Knight of Jackal's spot on the field.

(2100-3700)

"Now that's it my turn..." said Twist. "I will activate the spell, Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your Dark Door!" The powerful tornado ripped apart his spell, leaving him down to only one defensive move away from defeat.

"Next, I'll activate my very own Banner of Courage! Thanks to this, you are as good as dead! Attack his monsters!" His Banner of Courage lifted itself up and revealed itself. Manticore followed his orders gladly, jumping up and grabbing onto Roc's wing, only to pull him down and crush him.

Mystical Knight of Jackal also attacked, impaling Clayman with his spear, and breaking through Blake's defenses.

Vorse Raider also did this, crushing Snipe Hunter with his sword.

"Also, remember Mystical Knight of Jackal's effect. When it destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, I can send that monster to the top of your deck. Anyway, that's it for this turn. Your move."

(2100-3600)

Blake drew his next two cards, one of which was his Clayman. _'Good thing I activated that Guardian Treasure card a few turns ago. Though it may have cost me five cards, letting me draw two cards at the start of my draw phase has definitely been a plus!' _he thought.

His defenses were down, and he was low on plans. His only choice was to get Twist to attack him. Sure, it was a long shot, but if everything worked, then he would win this duel.

"I'll set a card face-down, and end my turn." he said, knowing full well that there wasn't much else he could do. His Draining Shield appeared on the field, concealed from the two duelists.

(2100-3600)

With a laugh, Twist drew his card. "This is funny. Seems you've already given up. I guess that's too bad. First, I'll activate the spell card, H-Heated Heart! Thanks to this, I can give my Mystical Knight an extra 500 attack points for this turn! Now, attack him directly!"

Vorse Raider attacked first, cutting across Blake's chest with his sword. The phantom pain hit, and though it wasn't too painful, it did hurt.

Next came Manticore, charging at him and trying to tear him to shreds. Only, he had failed. As soon as he tried to crush Blake, his trap card, Draining Shield, activated and absorbed the attack.

(2100-4000)

"Grr... Damn you... You realize that this doesn't matter, right? You'll be finished on my next turn. Mystical Knight, attack him directly!"

The powerful beast-warrior impaled Blake with his spear, causing his life points to drop dramatically.

Twist's victory was short-lived as he saw the card that Blake had just activated. It was the quick-play spell known as Inferno Tempest. "Thanks to this card... All the monsters in our graveyards and decks are removed from play!"

Twist and Blake did as the card had instructed, with Twist becoming more suspicious by the moment. "What are you up to? You just rid yourself of any chance of beating me! You've got no monsters that can beat mine, and you have an empty field!"

"Do you finish your turn?" asked Blake.

Twist took a step back in surprise as he heard this, but kept his anger suppressed. "Yes, I do."

(2100-600)

Blake drew another card and smiled. "I'll show you why I did all that. I activate the spell card, Chaos End! When I've got at least 7 cards removed from play, I can use this card to destroy all monsters on the field."

The sky above them became dark and lightning shot out in large numbers, eradicating all the monsters on the field.

Twist was about to ask why he had done this, but his questions was answered when Blake's face-down card revealed itself. It was the trap card, Return from Different Dimension.

(2100-300)

"Thanks to this, I get to special summon as many of my monsters that were removed from play for this turn!"

From a rip in the sky came five different monsters, all just as deadly as each other. There was:

-Launcher Spider (2200/2500)

-Summoned Skull (2500/1400)

-Luster Dragon #2 (2400/1400)

-The Earl of Demise (2000/700)

-Slot Machine (2000/2300)

Twist knew what was coming. He heard Blake command them to attack, and braced himself for the relentless impact that soon followed. His life points dropped to zero and the duel was over.

* * *

Casey sped up down the highway, looking for an exit to try and catch the guy. Within minutes, she found one, and ignored all the speed laws in an attempt to get to Blake before it was too late. Based on what she saw, she knew he was perfect to join their team, but she had to find him first. Finally, she got to the spot where Blake and Twist were dueling.

Yup. She got there. Too late... It seemed as though both duelists had left the area, and she was left only with disappointment.

With a sigh, she drove back to her apartment. Or rather, her team's apartment. It was true that she lived there, and it was true that she paid her share of the rent, but with those two there, she never felt like it was her home. As a matter of fact, she didn't feel like she was part of the group either.

As she rode down the street, she played with her locket with her hand. _'I miss you...' _she thought.

* * *

By 7 pm, she had arrived at her apartment. She left her Duel Runner in the garage, and proceeded up the stairs to the apartment.

"So, how did things go?" asked Zeke as she walked in.

"Depends. Do you want the good news or bad news first?"

"Good news first." he replied.

"I found someone. I saw him duel, and he definitely had some talent. The only problem was that I was driving on the highway when I saw him. By the time I managed to get off it and to where he was, he was already gone."

"Really...? Do you at least know what his name is?"

"Hm... I think it was Blake. Blake...Anderson. Why?"

"Because, now it'll be easier to track him down. We'll have to start tomorrow, though. Its too late to do anything right now." he said.

"Dinner's ready." called out Akira.

Zeke and Casey walked into the kitchen and sat down to eat. There, on the table, were three plates with rice, some fried chicken, and a special homemade sauce that Akira made. Lately, due to everyone being so busy, Akira had decided to expand on his cooking skills to make sure that his friends came home to a delicious dinner.

Everyone ate, though dinner was pretty quiet. Everyone was thinking about the same thing, but they couldn't mention anything without something going wrong.

As soon as she was done eating, she put her plates and utensils in the dishwasher and went to her room, locking the door behind her. There she remained for the rest of the night.

* * *

The following day, they all got up and began on their daily routine. Mostly, they all worked in the garage on the Duel Runners, except on the days in which they needed to work or run errands. Even then, they all took turns when it came to running errands.

Today, there were all down in the garage, working on their Duel Runners.

Akira was the true mechanic here. His skills at being able to fix a Duel Runner with such ease was astonishing. Zeke was one who managed to help him out, despite the fact that he probably knew less than half of what Akira did.

Casey didn't know much of this, however. Though she occasionally managed to help out here and there with the mechanics, she was the one who would always test it out. Her Duel Runner was always the first one to be experimented on. It wasn't because they didn't care if something went wrong, but it was because she didn't have enough experience when it came to Turbo Dueling, so Akira and Zeke wanted to make sure she got the help she needed for the WRGP.

Today was a slow day when it came to upgrading the Duel Runners, so Casey just sat on the couch and watched the different Turbo Duels that were occurring.

"Hm... The new system is coming along slowly, but if we manage to do it right, then we'll be able to improve our Turbo Dueling skills." said Akira.

"Yeah," replied Zeke. "Actually, I think we are doing pretty well. I mean, a month ago, we wouldn't think we'd get this far, but just look at this!" he said with excitement in his voice. Truly they found this to be kind of fun, but it was a lot of hard work that was to be done.

Casey was tuned into the tv, completely ignoring what they were saying. Every duel she saw, every strategy... It was all making her go crazy. The things she would be able to do in the WRGP! The possibilities were endless, and she was thinking each one through in her head.

It wasn't long before Zeke noticed this, and he had an idea.

"Kira, think you can handle things here for a while? I think I'll go and help Casey practice her Turbo Dueling." he whispered to him.

"Sure. Go right ahead. She needs to practice if we ever want to win this."

"Yo Casey, want to Turbo Duel?"

She looked at him quizzically, her mind still running many of the various dueling tactics that she had just seen. "Why?"

"I feel like practicing. You up for it?"

Sure." she said, shrugging as she got up. They mounted their Duel runners and quickly left, leaving Akira alone to work on this.

* * *

Two Duel Runners raced down the highway at high speeds. The first one, a dark green with white stripes, belonged to Casey. The second one, a silver one with black streaks running from the front to the back, was Zeke's.

"So, you ready Casey? Remember that the WRGP is not going to be easy. To win it, we must rely on both strategy, and teamwork."

"I know!"

"Well in that case, let's duel! You can have the first turn." he said as they both activated the Speed World 2 field spell.

(4000-4000) [0:0]

Casey drew, starting both the duel and her first turn. She took a quick look at her hand. She held Mysterious Puppeteer, Snatch Steal, Bad Reaction to Simochi, Educated Student Lv.3*, Command Knight, and Giant Soldier of Stone.

"I'll start by placing one card face-down, and then summoning Mysterious Puppeteer (1500/1000) in defense mode!" Her Bad Reaction to Simochi appeared concealed on the field, and the disguised puppeteer appeared before it, kneeling down and holding the puppet up as if it were a shield.

"Your turn."

(4000-4000) [1:1]

Zeke drew, thinking about what to do. He scanned the cards in his hand, and then looked at her field.

_'Hm... Seems like she's put up a good field. However, if I know her, then I know that she makes some mistakes, which is why she needs to practice. Let's see what we can do to help her with that...'_

"I'll set two cards face-down, and then I'll summon Firebird (1000/800) in attack mode!" The two set cards appeared concealed on his field, and in a burst of flames appeared Firebird, a miniature phoenix from the looks of it.

A green glow appeared around Casey as her Puppeteer's effect activated and gave her an extra 500 life points. She smirked at this, despite knowing that Zeke wouldn't do something like this without reason.

"Your move."

(4500-4000) [2:2]

Casey was curious, this was true, but she couldn't let her guard down. That would cause many problems. She looked at the card she had just drawn. It was Rallis the Star Bird.

"I'll summon Rallis the Star Bird (800/800) in attack mode!" A small bird of golden colors appeared on her field, and Casey glowed again as her life points went up once more.

"Attack his Firebird!" she ordered.

Normally, an opponent would laugh at how she attacked his Firebird with a monster that was weaker. However, Zeke knew what this monster could do. He watched at the bird shone greatly and its attack points went up to 1600. The bright light shattered Firebird into pieces, and Rallis disappeared from the field.

"As you know, the effect of Rallis causes it to be removed from play until my next battle phase if it attacks. Anyways, its your turn."

(5000-3400) [3:3]

Zeke examined the card he drew, and then looked at the field.

"I'll set one card face-down, and summon Birdface (1600/1600) in attack mode!" The slightly humanoid bird appeared on the field, looking for a prey.

Casey glowed once more, and her life points rose again.

"Birdface, attack her Puppeteer!" The bird flew at her Puppeteer, and crushed it with its sharp talons.

"Your turn."

(5500-3400) [4:4]

Casey drew again. Fortunately, her life points were in good shape, she had a good amount of speed counters, and she had just drawn Chainsaw Insect.

"I'll start my turn by summoning Chainsaw Insect (2400/0) in attack mode." The small insect with the large metal jaws appeared on the field, and soon after it made its appearance, Rallis did the same.

"Rallis, attack his Birdface!" The small golden bird flew at Birdface, shining as its attack points went up again. The two collided and crushed each other, causing Zeke to lose his last monster. However, his monster's effect allowed him to add one monster with 'Harpie Lady' from his deck to his hand.

"Chainsaw Insect, attack him directly!" The small bug did as ordered, but was stopped by an invisible barrier that appeared when one of his face-down cards revealed itself to be Negate Attack.

Unable to continue with her turn, she ended it, waiting to see what Zeke was planning.

(5500-3400) [5:5]

Zeke drew a card, and smiled when he saw it. "I'll summon Harpie Lady 3 (1300/1400) in defense mode, and end my turn." The harpy appeared on the field, a wicked smile as she used her wings to shield herself from attacks.

(5500-3400) [6:6]

Casey drew another card as her speed counters rose up even more. _'He's planning something... But what could it be? Either way, I have to make sure that he doesn't get a chance to summon anything strong.'_

"I'll summon Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) in defense mode!" The large warrior appeared on the field, standing with his sword in a defensive position, yet looking like an actual wall had appeared on the field. She wanted to summon the monster she had just drawn, Neo Aqua Madoor, but she couldn't sacrifice her only offensive monster. She'd have to wait another turn before she did anything.

"Chainsaw Insect, attack his Harpie Lady!" The insect did as commanded, shattering the harpy into pieces.

"Its your turn."

(5500-3400) [7:7]

Zeke looked at the two cards he had drawn, one of which was done through the effect of Chainsaw Insect.

"First, I'll begin my turn by setting one card on the field, and summoning Shining Eagle (2200/1900) in attack mode!" The large eagle appeared on the field, emitting a ray of light that blinded them temporarily. "Now, attack her Soldier of Stone!"

The eagle flew at the rock warrior, and crushed it with its mighty and powerful talons.

"Its your turn now."

(5500-3400) [8:8]

She drew. Her speed counters were slowly getting to the max, and she was without a good plan of attack.

She looked at the card she had just drawn, which was Marauding Captain. That's when she noticed a very important detail that she had forgotten. She held Command Knight in her hand! However, she wasn't sure of what to do right now.

"Don't hesitate!' yelled Zeke. "The more you hesitate, the more time you give your opponent to counterattack. Remember this!"

She gulped, and took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Alright! I'll summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) in defense mode!" The young warrior appeared on the field, weapon and shield raised in a defensive pose. "Thanks to his effect, I get to special summon another warrior to my field. I summon Educated Student Lv.3* (1500/100) in attack mode!" The small boy, wearing a standard school uniform and glasses, appeared on the field. He held his small book tightly in his hands.

"Now, Chainsaw Insect, attack his Shining Eagle*!" she commanded, but the bug did not move.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that when Harpie Lady 3 is destroyed, the monster that battled her cannot attack again for 2 turns?" he said teasingly.

"Damn... I'll end my turn now."

(5500-3400) [9:9]

"I guess I'll go." He looked at the card he had drawn. It seemed as if he finally got what he was looking for. "I'll start by activating the speed spell, Summon Speeder! Thanks to this, I get to special summon a level 4 or lower monster from my hand! I'm summoning Harpie's Brother (1800/600) in attack mode!" The young humanoid bird appeared on the field, sharing a few similarities in appearance with Harpie Lady, but still being a different monster altogether.

"Don't worry, though. He won't be here long. I'll sacrifice my monsters to summon Magician's Necromancer* (2600/2500) in attack mode." The two monsters shattered, and from the shattered remains rose a powerful mage dressed in dark robes and foul-looking clothes. It held a staff made of decaying wood, and at the top of it, was a crystal orb with a swirling dark fog inside.

"Attack her Marauding Captain!" The mage raised his staff, releasing the dark fog and swallowing up Marauding Captain.

Casey sure was glad that she had summoned that monster. It protected the other two for another turn. Not only that, but she could turn things around with this. "I'll activate my Educated Student Lv.3's* monster effect! During either player's Battle Phase, I get to send him to the graveyard to special summon my Educated Student Lv.5* (2200/1500) in attack mode!" With a flash, the small school kid was gone, and in its a place was an older version of him, carrying a different version of the book that the previous monster was holding.

"Its your turn." said Zeke.

(5500-3400) [10:10]

Casey looked as her speed counters went up again. She was now able to use almost any speed spell available in the game. She looked at her hand. The stage was set. She could defeat that monster and Zeke, too.

"First, I'll summon Command Knight (1200/1900) in defense mode! This monster increases the attack of all Warrior-Type monsters by 400 points!" The old style renaissance knight appeared next to Chainsaw Insect, his sword up in a defensive pose.

"Next, I'll activate my Educated Student's* effect, allowing me to send him to the graveyard to special summon Educated Student Lv. 7* (2800/2000) in attack mode!" Once again, the teenage warrior disappeared, replaced by an older version of himself. This one had an even more updated version of the spell-book that his previous self held.

"Sadly, due to this effect, I'm not allowed to attack on the turn he was summoned. Anyways, I think I'll activate the equip spell, Snatch Steal! Now, I get to take control of your monster!" She placed the card on the duel disk, and a glow surrounded Magician's Necromancer* as he jumped over to her side of the field.

"Your turn." she said with a smirk.

(5500-3400) [11:11]

Zeke started his turn, noticing that his speed counters had almost reached the max.

Just as the effect of Snatch Steal was about to activate, one of her face-down cards revealed itself. It was Bad Reaction to Simochi. Instead of raising his life points, it merely decreased it by 1000 points. "I'll set a monster, and I'll end my turn."

The concealed card appeared on the field, hiding something very sinister.

(5500-2400) [12:12]

"My turn!" she said, their speed counters reaching its max. They were now going as fast as possible, and Casey was struggling to keep her balance. She wasn't playing with her Duel Runner on autopilot, since this wasn't allowed in the competition, and she needed to practice how to do this. Her Duel Runner began to tip side to side, and she kept moving in an effort to regain her balance.

"Be careful!" said Zeke. "You need to get used to dueling at these speeds, but you can't risk getting hurt!"

She already knew this, but knowing it didn't mean she could do it. She continued with her turn, knowing that she had to be extremely careful.

"I'll start by attacking with Chainsaw Insect!"

The large-jawed bug jumped at the face-down monster, only to be blocked by the barrier created by Draining Shield.

"Thanks for the extra life points." he teased.

"Grr... Magician's Necromancer*, attack his monster!" The monster did as commanded, but once again, a barrier protected the monster. This time, it was caused by Negate Attack.

"Damn you... Your move."

(5500-5800) [12:12]

Zeke grinned, knowing that things were going according to plan, despite the fact that he was losing life points every turn from the effect of her Bad Reaction to Simochi trap card. "I'll start by activating the trap card, Call of the Haunted!" The trap revealed itself, and in a burst of light appeared Shining Eagle* (2200/1900) on the field.

"Next, I'll equip him with the equip spell, Attract*! This forces you to chose him as an attack target until the monster is destroyed."

_'Damn it...'_ she thought. _'All I can do now is keep attacking him until I reduce his life points to nothing...'_

"I'll flip summon my set monster, Jigen Bakudan (200/1000) to defense mode!" The little monster, which looked more like a small red bomb with a clock and two legs, appeared on his field, crouching to protect himself from attacks.

"Your turn."

(5500-4800) [12:12]

Casey drew her next card and looked at it. She wasn't sure of what to do, but thought that her current approach was the best. Still, there was one thing that bothered her. It was the monster that he had flip summoned.

_'Its weak... And he hasn't activated it's effect yet. This doesn't make any sense... Why would he go through so much trouble to protect such a weak monster? Something must be up...'_

Yes, she was getting worried. She had never seen the monster before, and it seemed to be deadlier than it looks.

Still, she had to do something. "Attack!"

The monsters did as ordered, assaulting Shining Eagle* and slowly making Zeke's life points drop.

"I end my turn..."

(5500-2200) [12:12]

Zeke drew another card. His plan was working perfectly.

"Casey... I think you should know a little detail. Most people like to go straight to summoning their ace monster and ending the duel quickly. There's a reason why I haven't yet. You need practice. This is why I made sure that the duel lasted this long, so you could get used to dueling at such extreme speeds. However, You should know how to keep your balance when losing life points." he told her.

"I activate the equip spell, Megamorph, and equip it to my Shining Eagle*! Due to having lower life points than you, this card allows me to double his attack points!" Shining Eagle screeched as its attack points went all the way up to 4400.

"Im not done yet, though. I'll also equip him with Amulet of Ambition! This card allows him to gain 500 extra attack points per difference in level when he fights a monster with a higher level. Now, attack her Magician's Necromancer*!" The flying beast shone again as it attack points went up to 5900 points. It rushed towards Necromancer and tore it to shreds with its powerful talons.

Then, flapped its wings back, the powerful gust hitting Casey as she lost life points. She began to tip to the sides like before, though this time it was even harder to regain her balance. After a minute or two, she finally regained her balance and continued the duel.

"Its your turn."

(3300-2200) [12:12]

She drew again, this time holding five cards in her hand. Neo Aqua Madoor, Half or Nothing, Turret Warrior, Silent Swordsman Lv.5, and Nitro Synchron.

"I'll set a card, and sacrifice my Educated Student Lv.7* to special summon Turret Warrior (1200/2000) from my hand in attack mode!" The towering mechanical warrior appeared where Educated Student Lv.7* once stood, and when the phantom image of the monster hovered over him, his attack points rose to 4000, and then to 4400 from Command Knight's effect.

"Since that was a special summon, I still have my normal summon. So I'll sacrifice Chainsaw Insect and summon Neo Aqua Madoor (1200/3000) in defense mode!" The powerful spell-caster appeared on the field, sitting on an icy throne as a strong wall of ice rose up before him.

"I end my turn."

(3300-2200) [12:12]

Zeke drew and looked at her. "Sorry, but its getting late, so I'll end this duel now." he said. "I'll activate the speed spell, Speed Storm! Thanks to this, you lose 1000 life points!"

(2300-2200) [12:12]

"Next, I'll activate the effect of Speed World 2! By giving up 4 speed counters, I get to inflict 800 points of damage to your life points! I only have one, but at the cost of all my speed counters, I get to inflict 2400 points of damage to your life points!"

Casey's eyes widened as she heard this. She was doomed. Nothing she had on the field or in her hand could possibly stop this. She felt the phantom pain from this attack hit, and watched her life points drop to zero.

(0-2200) [12:0]

She came to a sudden halt, and took a deep breath. She had lost. Though she knew that she had to keep working on her dueling skills, she did feel this was good practice. Zeke came slowed to a stop as he caught up to her.

"Nice duel." he said.

She sighed, and agreed. "Thanks."

"You know, you shouldn't be so sad. You put up a good fight. You just need practice. Anyways I think we should get back to the apartment. Seems we stayed out here for too long." She nodded, and followed him back to the apartment.

On the way back, Zeke thought about the duel. _'Hmm... Educated Student Lv.7*... That was her ace monster. That may have been a good duel, but she really needs to get the rest of the 'Educated' card series. Maybe I should try and find a few for her...'_

**End of Chapter 1.

* * *

**

_The WRGP is less than two weeks away, and our heroes are getting ready for it every single day. However, this will bring in more surprises than they could imagine. Strong teams are emerging at every moment, in the next chapter, you'll witness the birth of our heroes' strongest rival. Keep your eyes open for: Criminal Intent!

* * *

_

A/N: Monsters that were in the previous story will not be included in the card album. Also, the 'Educated' monster series are of my own creation. You'll be seeing more of them later on.

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Educated Student Lv.3 - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 3

ATK: 1500

DEF: 100

Effect: During you or your opponent's battle phase, send this card to the graveyard to summon from your hand or deck Educated Student Lv.5.

* * *

Educated Student Lv.5 - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 5

ATK: 2200

DEF: 1500

Effect: During your turn, remove this card from play to summon, from your hand or deck, 'Educated Student Lv.7'.

* * *

Educated Student Lv.7 - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 7

ATK: 2800

DEF: 2000

Effect: This card can only be special summoned by the effect of 'Educated Student Lv.5'. This card cannot attack during the turn it was special summoned through 'Educated Student Lv.5's effect. This card can attack once for each monster on your field. If you do this, you can't activate any spell or trap cards on your turn, or attack directly. Remove this card from play to special summon, from your deck or hand, to your side of the field 'Educated Master'.

* * *

Attract - Spell Card

Type: Equip

Effect: Your opponent cannot target any of your monsters except for the one equipped with this card.


	2. Chapter 2: Criminal Intent!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Animals by Nickelback

* * *

_

**Chapter 2: Criminal Intent**

Satellite has had quite an improvement over the past year. Stores were built, parks were made, it seemed to be a smaller version of Neo Domino City. Still, the Facility was there for all of those criminals that just couldn't be released. (Many of them had the false charges dropped, but many were still left here that weren't brought in under false charges.)

But the Facility wasn't the only place for criminals. In the Satellite, there was B.A.D, a place so dangerous that only the most hardened of all criminals would be here, and Security wouldn't dare enter this place. That's not to say, however, that these criminals weren't caught. At one point or another, they left this place to commit a crime or two, and they eventually got caught.

For these people, putting them in with the minor offenders seemed like it wasn't enough. This was the reason why the Aguerris Center was created. It is the home of all the most dangerous criminals in both the Satellite and Neo Domino.

It was large, built looking like a fortress. It was at least twice the size of the Facility, yet it housed only a total of 100 prisoners.

Though it wasn't great, the prisoners were used to the single person rooms, that had their own private bathroom and a bed that was slightly more comfortable than those at the Facility. (The less people they have to care for, the more money they save.) It had a track for turbo duelists, since this was what they used to entertain the prisoners. After all, there is no better way to avoid their fighting than by distracting them.

Still, there were always a few fights, and not many of them were settled with duels. In this case, the guards were allowed to use weapons that allowed them to control riots whenever they got out of hand. Here, they happened to use them quite frequently.

It was lunchtime, and the prisoners were down in the Mess Hall. The food here was also better than that of the Facility, although everyone agreed that it was still bad.

Sitting on a table around the middle of the room was a young man with short, spiky black hair, dressed in the old grey clothes that the prisoners here were forced to wear. On the back, they had their registered prisoner number. He had two scars on his face, a marker that went across his right eye, and his name was Kaiser, or at least, that was what everyone around here called him.

He was eating his lunch, surrounded by three other people. One of them was a muscular man, taller than Kai, with dark skin and multiple rings on his ears and face. He had one marker on his forehead, which was a triangle that covered a small part of his bald head. He was 'Crusher'.

The other one, who was sitting next to Kai, was about the same height as him. He was more muscular-looking than Kai, but it wasn't as noticible as Crusher. He had long brown hair, which usually covered his face, and his marker was an arrow that was under his left eye, and went from his nose to the end of his eye. This was Tueur, one of his closest friends here.

The last of these people sat next to Crusher. He was shorter than Kai, but not by much. He was pretty skinny, and had a military-style haircut and blond hair. His clothes had many oil stains, which implied that he was some sort of mechanic. His marker was just a small circle that was in the middle of his forehead. This was Greuto.

Despite being here for a little less than a year, Kaiser was already the most respected person here, and the one that everyone wanted to beat. Truthfully, he was a pretty cold individual, and towards his friends, he was just less cold to them than to others. Yet, he was no longer in any danger of being harmed by others. His skills at dueling had earned him the respect of everyone there. No one would ever dare harm him, even if they weren't part of his crew, and even when he lost a duel, no one ever lost any respect towards him, since he never showed-off when dueling or tried to make himself look like the best duelist there. Due to this, whenever someone dueled him, they were mostly just trying to improve their skills, rather than beat him.

His influence over the prisoners there was large, but he never used it to his advantage. Right now, he was eating after having gone through a difficult duel, and was starving.

"Nice duel, man. Seems like every time you duel, one of us learns something new." said Tueur.

"Yeah, you are great." said the slightly squeaky-voiced Greuto.

"Thanks." replied Kai with disinterest.

Honestly, Kai found it kind of boring being here. It all got too repetitive, and eventually, he wanted to get out. He let out a sigh as he finished eating. The others had finished long ago, but since Kai got a late start due to his duel, they decided to wait for him.

"So, what next Kai? Are we going to work on the Duel Runners?" asked Crusher.

Kai shook his head. "No thanks. Work on yours, if you want. I'm kind of tired, so I'll be in my room." he said, getting up and leaving the room.

"Alright." said Tueur. "I guess we'll see you later, then. Come on, guys. Let's go to the garage and work on our Duel Runners." They all followed him to the garage. "You think that Kai is alright?" asked Greuto.

"I'm sure he's fine. Probably just sad cause he's been here for almost a year. Its almost the anniversary of the day he came here." replied Tueur.

Almost at the other side of the building, Kai entered his room. It wasn't very big, but it was comfortable. In terms of size, it had enough space to fit two king-sized beds put next to each other. There was a small twin-sized bed, like in every room, but it was pretty comfortable, at least he found it that way.

A few feet from his bed was a desk with his Duel Disk and his deck laying on the top. This is where he usually worked on his deck when he got bored or wanted to make a change. It also had a few drawers, which is where he kept his cards, and a few tools.

On the wall right next to his bed was an intercom, and on the wall opposite of that one was a clock. The room itself was just a bland grey-ish color. Kai lied down on his bed and reached for the locket that was next to it. He took a quick look at it, and threw it at the wall. "So much for love, huh? Been stuck here for a year thanks to you..." he said to no one in particular.

He closed his eyes and went to sleep...

* * *

The next day, he was back at the Mess Hall, eating breakfast. His crew was sitting around him, like always. Today, the place was pretty loud, with everyone talking about the big news.

"Hey Kai, did you hear? Director Yeager is coming here!" said Tueur.

"Why is that?" he asked.

"I don't know. They say its top secret, or like the guards say, 'Shut the hell up, already'." he replied.

"I heard that the only time that such higher ups in Security ever come here is when something of huge importance is going on." said Greuto.

"Anyways, that's not what really matters. What I would like to know is what you are going to do with the guy who keeps trying to challenge you?" asked Crusher.

"What guy?" he asked.

"Apparently there's someone from the Judir Clan who says he can beat you like there's no tomorrow. Now, you aren't going to let him get away with that, are you?" he explained.

Before could even open his mouth to say something, he was interrupted by Tueur. "Did you forget what kind of person Kaiser is? He doesn't have to duel this guy! Besides, the guy obviously hasn't heard about Kai, so let's just ignore him."

"No." said Kai. "I'll duel him. Tell him that if he really wants to get this done, then he should meet me at the tracks in a couple of hours."

"Alright! That's what I like to hear! Greuto, let's go and deliver the message!" said Crusher as they ran off, telling everyone.

Tueur decided to stay behind, however. "You sure you want to do this, Kai? You are acting kind of different lately."

"I'm fine."

"Alright then. I'll make sure that your ride is ready by that time." he said, patting him on the back and leaving the room.

Kaiser sighed again, and left to check out his deck before his duel.

* * *

It was now ten am, and the prisoners were in the stands, getting ready to watch the duel between Kaiser and his challenger. Kaiser was sitting on his Duel Runner, it was streamlined, grey, and with a couple of black dots on each side.

Just arriving onto the track was his opponent. His Duel Runner a dark blue color, and was very similar to Kai's Duel Runner. "You ready?" said Tony.

"Yeah, I'm ready." replied Kaiser.

They both started revving the engines, waiting for the moment until they were able to go.

(4000-4000) [0-0]

A loud beeping noise was heard, and both duelist rode off. "Since I'm the one being challenged, I'll go first!" said Kai, drawing a card. He took a look at his hand, which consisted of: Masked Dragon, Phantom Dragon, The Dragon's Bead, Mirage Dragon, Speed Spell-Angel Baton, and Dragon Treasure.

"I'll start by setting two cards on the field, and then I'll summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in defense mode! Your move." His Dragon's Bead and Dragon Treasure appeared face-down on the field, with Masked Dragon hiding itself behind its wings.

(4000-4000) [1-1]

"That's it?" asked Tony as he drew his card. "I'll start by activating the continous spell, Dimensional Fissure!" The card appeared on the field, and right before it was a dimensional rip that seemed to suck in whatever it could. "From this point on, any monster sent to the graveyard will be removed from play. Next, I'll summon Medium Piece Golem (1600/0) in attack mode!" A humanoid-looking, mechanical rock monster appeared on his field, its red eyes looking at Kai.

"Attack his dragon!" The golem jumped towards Masked Dragon and shattered it to pieces with a mighty punch.

"Remember, your monster's effect won't work since it was removed from play due to my spell card. Now, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

(4000-4000) [2-2]

Kai drew a card. His original plan had failed, but it wouldn't stop him. He looked at the Ekibyo Drakmord that he drew. "I'll summon Mirage Dragon (1600/600) in attack mode!" The large yellow dragon with the ghostly body appeared next to Kaiser's Duel Runner, flying at the same speed. "Thanks to his effect, you cannot activate trap cards during the battle phase. I'm not done yet, though. I'll equip my Mirage Dragon with Dragon's Treasure, which will increase its attack and defense points by 300!"

Mirage Dragon roared as it glowed and its attack points went up to 1900.

"Now, destroy his Golem!" The dragon turned around and flew at Medium Piece Golem, crushing it to pieces.

"I end my turn."

(4000-3700) [3-3]

"You did well, but I'm afraid that its not good enough." he said, drawing a card. "I'll set a monster, and a card, then end my turn."

The two cards appeared, with the spell or trap that he set disappearing.

(4000-3700) [4-4]

"Alright." he said, looking at the card he had just drawn. "I'll summon Armed Dragon Lv.3 (1200/900) in defense mode!" The small orange dragon appeared next to Mirage Dragon, using its small arms to defend itself.

"Mirage Dragon, attack his monster!" The dragon flew at the concealed monster and attempted to crush it, but it was thrown back. "What the-?"

"Surprised?" asked Tony. There was a big green rock that was breathing a heavy fog out of its mouth. "Its called Stone Statue of the Aztecs (300/2000)! Its got a great defense, and whatever battle damage you receive from attacking this card is doubled!"

Kai groaned a bit as his Life Points went down.

"In that case, I'll just end my turn now."

(3800-3700) [5-5]

"I'll start my turn by activating the trap card, Rock Bombardment! Thanks to this, I can just discard a Rock-Type monster from my deck, and you take 500 points of damage!" The trap card lifted itself up as he took a card from his deck and discarded it, then it fired a yellow beam that hit Kai squarely in the back.

"Now its time for an upgrade! I'll sacrifice my Stone Statue of the Aztecs to summon, Castle Gate (0/2400) in defense mode!" A large grey gate with a red door appeared on his field, its huge size casting a shadow over the two turbo duelists.

"I think I'll end my turn there."

(3300-3700) [6-6]

Kai drew a card and watched as his speed counters went up. _'Quite an annoying defense, but I think I can see where this is going.'_ he thought.

"Go get him, Kai!", Kick his ass, Kai!", "Tear this loser to shreds!", were comments from the spectators. As expected, they were all rooting for Kai. Kai just did as he usually did. He ignored them.

He looked at the card he had just drawn. It was Armed Dragon Lv.5. _'Good. With that spell of his, this is the only way to summon him...'_

"I'll start by sacrificing Armed Dragon Lv.3, and summoning Armed Dragon Lv. 5 (2400/1700) in attack mode!" The small orange dragon disappeared, and in its place, was a larger version of itself, covered with red armor.

_'Hm... Can't use its effect... Guess I'll just have to mount my defenses until I can get rid of that spell.'_

"Your turn."

(3300-3700) [7-7]

Tony smirked as he drew a card. "Looks like you're stuck. Well, let me make this harder for you. "I'll summon Fossil Tusker (1800/0) in attack mode!" A large white, rocky mammoth, appeared next to Castle Gate. "Now, I could easy rid the field of that Mirage Dragon of yours by destroying it along with my monster, but I have a better idea. I'll use my Castle Gate's effect, and sacrifice him!" The mammoth let out a guttural moan as it charged through the door, which began to glow.

"Now, I get to hit with damage that's equal to my monster's original attack score!"

Kai winced as he was hit with the phantom pain and lost Life Points.

"Go ahead. Try to beat me."

(1500-3700) [8-8]

Kai listened to the crowd as he drew his next, them chanting his name, telling him not to lose.

He looked at the card he drew. It was Burst Breath. _'Pretty good card... I can use this. However, I need to make sure I save it for when its needed...'_

"I'll set a card on the field, then I'll activate the equip spell, Ekibyo Drakmord, and equip it to Castle Gate!" The large began to corrode, and was covered in a dark green rust mixed with moss and lethal bacteria. "In two turns, you are going down!

"Now, I'll sacrifice my Mirage Dragon, and summon Tiger Dragon (2400/1800) in attack mode!" Mirage Dragon disappeared in a flash of light, and a large dragon, which was orange with black stripes like a tiger, was in its place. "Thanks to its effect, if I summon it by sacrificing a Dragon-Type monster, it can destroy two of your set spell or trap cards!" The dragon let out a fiery breath, and two of Tony's set cards were burnt to ashes.

"Its your move now."

(1500-3700) [9-9]

"I'll get you for that!" growled Tony.

"I'll summon Seismic Crasher (1400/300) in defense mode!" A young warrior dressed in blue clothes and wielding two large swords appeared next to the large gate. "Thanks to his effect, I can destroy my Dimensional Fissure, and then slam you with 500 more points of damage!" The swirling portal slowly closed, and Seismic Crasher glowed, shooting off a beam that hit Kai in the back once again.

"Next, I'll activate the speed spell, Summon Speeder!" The warrior disappeared in a flash of light, and in its spot was a large rock. Its face took up most of its body, and it had small arms and legs. "Thanks to this, I am able to summon, Big Piece Golem (2100/0) in attack mode!"

The whole crowd was cheering words of encouragement and of shock, as they watched as Kai was about to lose a duel to such an egotistical jerk like Tony. Then, the impossible happened.

(1000-3700) [9-9]

"Now, I get to use Castle Gate's effect!" he started, but he was shocked into silence when he saw Kai's Tiger Dragon let out a fiery breath and incinerating every monster on the field. "What the-?"

Kai chuckled. "I saw your deck's strategy from the beginning. Its obvious that you were just trying to mount your defenses while taking out my Life Points without fear of facing my monsters. At first, I thought that the Dimensional Fissure that you were using was to summon something big.

Then, I realized that you were bragging about how you could beat my deck, so I figured out that it was there to stop me from using monster effects to summon something that would be strong enough to defeat your Castle Gate!"

Then, Tony laughed. "In that case, you should know that I always come prepared! I was worried about you using that card, so I got rid of Dimensional Fissure because of that! I'm still in my main phase, so I can remove Seismic Crasher from play to special summon Gigantes (1900/1300) in attack mode!"

A large red ogre wearing greek armor and holding a large tree trunk appeared on the field. "Since I'm in my battle phase now, I can attack you directly and win this duel!"

"You sure you want to do that?" asked Kai.

"What do you mean by that?" Tony's question was answered soon enough. Floating next to Kai's Duel Runner was a large dark green dragon, with a ghastly face and a ghost tail.

"What is that thing? And how did you summon it on my turn?"

"Because you made a fatal mistake. You assume that you know every single trick up my sleeve. You see, Phantom Dragon (2300/2200) is a pretty good card. If you special summon a monster, I can special summon it from my hand. So, you going to attack, or not?"

Tony growled. "This isn't over yet. I'll get you next turn!"

(1000-3700) [10-10]

"There's not going to _be_ a next turn!" said Kai as he drew his next card. "I'll summon Fusilier Dragon (2800/2000) in attack mode! However, when I summon it without sacrificing, its attack and defense scores are cut in half." The mechanical dragon let out a roar as its attack score fell to 1400, and its defense score fell to 1000.

"First, I'll activate the effect of Speed World 2! At the cost of four speed counters, you take 800 points of damage for each speed spell in my hand, and I just happen to have one!" Tony began to glow as his Life Points went down.

(1000-2900) [6-10]

"Next, I'll activate the speed spell, Angel Baton!" He drew two cards, and discarded one of them. "Now, to turn this duel around!" he said with a smile on his face.

"I'll equip my Fusilier Dragon with Megamorph!" The crowed cheered as Kai's dragon regained its original attack points. Since Kai's Life Points were lower, he could double the attack points of the monster that was equipped with this card.

"Phantom Dragon, attack his Gigantes!" The dragon spewed out a poisonous haze that caused the monster to shatter into pieces. "And since there isn't anything protecting you... Fusilier Dragon, attack him directly!" The mechanized dragon roared and fired a beam that reduced the rest of Tony's Life Points to zero.

Kai slowed down to a stop, while Tony's Duel Runner had made a sudden stop just a few feet ahead of him. The crowd cheered and shouted out Kai's name. Once again, he had proven the right to be called Kaiser.

A small crowd gathered around the two turbo duelists as they got off the track and back into the garage. Little did they know, they were being watched...

* * *

The Head Officer of this place had his own private office, at the very top of the building. It was large and decorated with so many expensive things that one feared moving at all in that place due to the thought of breaking something they shouldn't have.

In that office, there were television sets that displayed everything in the building, from security cameras, to the duels on the track. Of course, they could just as easily watch from the glass windows that showed a great view of the track.

Looking from the windows, was Director Yeager, watching the duel with great excitement. "That's it! That's what I'm looking for! Get me that duelist right now!" The guards did as he said, running out of the room.

Moments later, the guards came back with Kai in tow. They sat him down in the chair before the Head Officer's desk, which Yeager was using as if it were his own.

"I suppose you'd like to know why you are here." said Yeager.

"I believe that's obvious..." replied Kai.

"You see," started Yeager, getting up from the chair and walking towards the window. "Sector Security is the only organized police force in all of Neo Domino. Basically, we get the job done most of the time, but there are times in which we can't catch the criminals. Problem is, most of these are actually some of the worst criminals that could ever roam the streets, and lately, they seem to be increasing in number."

"What does that have to do with me?" asked Kai.

"I saw your duel. I got to thinking, 'Maybe this guys can help us!', 'Maybe he could work for us, and catch all those criminals that slipped through our hands!'. Honestly, I came here to speak with the Head Officer about how to catch these criminals, but after that duel, I figured it out myself."

"That's nice and all, but I'm in jail, in case you've forgotten."

Yeager laughed. "I haven't forgotten about that. I was thinking that maybe we could make some kind of deal..."

"What kind of deal?" he asked suspiciously.

"Alright. If you do this for me, you will be pardoned and are allowed to leave this place. Not only that, but I'll even give you a nice little apartment to be in while you rest or relax from your job. You'll get orders from me about who your target shall be, and you'll be free to do as you wish in Neo Domino as long as you do your job right."

Kai thought about this for a moment. "Well, in that case, I have a few conditions of my own."

Yeager laughed after he heard the conditions. "That's all? Well, that's certainly not hard to do, but releasing you and your crew could cause problems. If you prove to us that you can pull this off, then I'll agree to those terms. Think of it as a... 'security' deposit."

Kai nodded. "Fine, but I'll still need that deck."

"Deal." said Yeager.

In less than an hour, a contract was drawn up and signed. "Good. You'll work during the night, and I already have your first targets." he said, handing over a couple of yellow folders marked 'Classified'. Kai took a quick look over them, and set off.

It was almost midnight, and Kai was on a streamlined Duel Runner. It was similar to the one he used, but it was completely black, with five white streaks running from the front to the back. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit, and wore a cape.

Yeager was standing next to him, a smile on his face. "Here you go." he said, handing him over his new deck. Kai took a quick look at it, and set it in his Duel Disk. "Alright. I'm ready." he said, revving the Duel Runner's engine.

"Good. Just remember. All you have to do is beat these two guys, and I'll come through with my end of the deal." said Yeager.

Kai nodded, and rode off into the city.

_'I won't fail... Too much rides on this for me to fail...'_ he thought. A determined look was on his face. "I coming for you..."

**End of Chapter 2.

* * *

**

_A hardened criminal with a dueling record that can almost go toe-to-toe with Yugi Moto's has been released from the highest security prison in all of Neo Domino and Satellite. He's a top-notch turbo duelist, and he's out for revenge! Phantom is here, and he's going to turn Neo Domino City upside-down! Be on the lookout for: Combo Platter!

* * *

_

A/N: Wow. Finished the whole chapter in only one day. I'm amazed at myself. If you want someone to blame this on, then blame Digidramon and CyberCommander for making such awesome fanfics and inspiring me to get to work on mine. Don't forget to R&R, and I hope you are having fun reading this.


	3. Chapter 3: Combo Platter!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Blown Away by Akon

* * *

_

**Chapter 3: Combo Platter!**

Casey yawned as she headed over to the kitchen. She had just woken up, a bit late compared to the others. Akira was always the one who managed to wake up before everyone else, and made them breakfast. Today, they were enjoying some pancakes, which they hadn't had in over a month.

Casey grabbed a plate, and quite a stack of pancakes too, and sat down on the table with everyone else. She noticed that they had stopped eating halfway and were very focused on the television. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Look." replied Akira.

She turned her gaze to the television, which was on the news. It showed three pictures. Two of them were of two high-profile criminals that were on Sector Security's Top Wanted List for years. The last one was of a Turbo Duelist who was dressed completely in black.

_"Last night, Sector Security caught two of their most wanted criminals. According to Sector Security, they found them tied up in the middle of a lane on the highway, with their Duel Runners completely disabled. Sector Security interrogated these two criminals, and they told them that they were jumped by a turbo duelist who called himself 'Phantom'. _

_Apparently, while they were in the middle of a drug trade, the duelist intervened, and chased after them on his Duel Runner when they tried to get away. He challenged them to a turbo duel, and when they lost, he tied them up and fried the circuits on their Duel Runners. Sector Security still has no idea who this man is, but so far, they have labeled him a vigilante, and will be keeping a close eye on him." _said the reporter.

"Interesting..." said Casey, between bites.

"Yeah." replied Zeke. "I don't know who this guy is, but if he was able to do all of that, then he must be good."

"I don't know..." said Akira. "Something about this seems off..."

"What do you mean?" asked Casey.

"Its nothing really. Still, I'm just curious, how did he know where to find them?"

Casey simply shrugged, not having an answer for that.

"Oh yeah, Casey," started Zeke. "I got some info on the guy that you were talking about. Blake Anderson? It turns out he's a pretty good turbo duelist. Apparently, he's been participating in many underground turbo duels, and has been wiping away the competition in each one."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Try checking out the docks every once in a while, if you can. They say he's there a lot."

"Alright." she said. "I'll go there today."

"Cool. In the meantime, I'll be hanging out around town, checking out the cards stores. Got an idea for something we could use to help us win." said Zeke.

They finished off their breakfast and left a few hours later. Akira, meanwhile, decided to stay home today, and started working on something in his computer. _'Something about this guy just doesn't sit right with me...' _he thought.

* * *

The Tops District was the part of Neo Domino in which the rich lived. Whoever lived here was usually very influential, very rich, and incredibly famous.

Of course, not all of these homes are mansions. Many of them are just tall buildings that contain large and expensive apartments. In one of these buildings, a small group of people had just entered the penthouse. It was extremely large, with a pool, a big yard, and three floors. Obviously, the place was decorated well, and contained a great entertainment system.

All four of them looked at the place in shock, never having thought that they would ever be here. They dropped their bags to the floor, staring at the room in amazement.

Just then, Yeager walked in through the door, with two guards behind him. The group turned around and grabbed the four keys he handed over. "Well, what do you think of the place? Pretty good, huh?" he asked.

"Its... Amazing..." said Kai. "You know, I only asked for moderate living conditions. A small apartment would have been fine."

Yeager laughed. "Oh, I know. But with the way you handled things last night, I thought you deserved better. After all, you caught two of the most dangerous criminals in Neo Domino like it wasn't hard at all! Enjoy your stay. Your next assignment shall be delivered in the afternoon." Laughing that strange laugh of his, he exited the apartment, with the guards following close behind.

"So, you heard the man. Make yourselves at home, guys." said Kai.

Greuto and Crusher quickly went upstairs and picked a room. Not long after, they rushed downstairs with their bathing suits on and jumped into the pool, creating a huge splash. (Mostly due to Crusher having picked up speed the moment he stepped off the stairs.)

Tueur stood next to Kai. "Man... I can't believe you managed to pull all of this off... You really are the greatest." He put a hand on his shoulder, smiling.

"I can't believe it either." Kai had a smile on his face, at least for a moment. Truthfully, he was glad about all that had happened, but he also felt some anger and sadness deep in his heart. Seeing all of this hurt him, in a way that no one in his could understand.

Tueur went up to his room and did the same, coming down a few moments later to relax in the pool.

Kai sighed, and thought that it might be better if he did the same. After all, he had just been pardoned from one of the worst jails in Neo Domino and Satellite combined, and he didn't seemed to care much. Maybe it was just too much to sink in for the moment. He really needed to relax...

A splash of water hit him in the face, and Kai slipped out of the inflatable seat and fell into the water. Tueur sat in his chair, laughing. "Man, you realize that all you've ever done lately is sleep? How much rest do you need?"

"Shut it. So what if I'm tired?" he replied.

"So what? Dude, I've seen sloths sleep less than you! You realize that you can get a sunburn if you fall asleep there?"

Kai shook his head as he got back on his inflatable seat. "Thanks, but I'm not too worried."

"You know, you really have been different lately. Why aren't you happy? You are free! We all are!" said Tueur.

Kai simply ignored him and went back to sleep. Meanwhile, Greuto and Crusher had been watching, but since they didn't know much of what was happening, and didn't know what they could say that could help, they decided to shrug it off and go back to playing volleyball.

The doorbell rang, and Kai was the only one who actually made the effort to go answer it. When he opened the door, there was no one there. All he found was a yellow folder that was marked 'Classified'. After looking over at both ends of the hallway, he picked it up and went back inside.

"Who was it?" yelled out Tueur.

"Just business stuff!" he replied.

He entered his room and locked the door behind him. His room was the largest one. His crew agreed that since they were here because of him, he should get the best room, though all the rooms were pretty good, and he didn't really care about which one he got. It had a large, king-sized bed, with red sheets made out of silk. The whole room was decorated in a red with gold theme, and resembled something that might have been seen in Chinese palaces during the times in which dynasties ruled it.

He sat down in front of the desk and opened the folder. It had three papers. He picked up and read the first one.

"Hikazu 'Blaze' Minato..." The rest was just boring information, such as the way he looked, his height, weight, etc. Of course, with a picture provided, Kai was sure he wouldn't have to pay too much attention to this. He put it aside and read the second paper.

"Wanted for arson, and the murder of an entire Satellite family..." The rest was just a list of some of the smaller and less important crimes that he's committed. He put it aside and picked up the third paper. This one had a list of all the cards in his deck, (that they knew of, at least), and a list of the places he has been seen hanging out at the most.

"Hm... A fire deck? Interesting. Guess I'll have to be careful around him..." He looked at the clock. It was almost time to go...

* * *

At the docks, not too far from the Tops District, was Casey. She was face-to-face with a turbo duelist named Blake Anderson. "I'm not sure... You really want me to join your team that much?" he asked.

"Yeah. We need some backup, just in case, and you'd be a great addition to our team."

"Why should I join you? I mean, you haven't given me any reason to even think that you guys are any good."

"Tell you what..." she started. "Let's have a turbo duel. If you win, you are free to do what you want. If I win, then you join our team."

Blake smiled. "Alright. That's what I like to hear. Let's start!"

She nodded and mounted her Duel Runner, chasing after him. They both pressed a button on the Duel Runner, and Speed World 2 appeared on the monitor. As they entered the highway, the Duel Lane separated itself and created a separated track just for them.

"Let's duel!" they said.

(4000-4000) [0-0]

"I'll start first, since I'm the one being challenged!" said Blake, drawing a card.

"I'll set two cards, and set one monster on the field. Your move." The set card concealing a monster appeared in front of his Duel Runner, and the other two cards appeared behind it.

(4000-4000) [1-1]

Casey drew her next card and looked at her hand. _'I sure hope this deck helps me out like it helped him...'_ she thought. In her hand, she held: Masked Dragon, Dragon's Rage, Future Fusion, Symbol of Heritage, Call of the Haunted, and Dragon dwelling in the Cave.

"I'll start by setting two cards, and summoning Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in defense mode!" The small dragon appeared on the field, covering itself with its wings. Future Fusion and Dragon's rage appeared with a flash behind the dragon, before disappearing.

"Your turn."

(4000-4000) [2-2]

Blake drew a card smirked. "I summon Nanobreaker (1600/1800) in attack mode!" The young female warrior dressed in metallic pink armor appeared on the field, wielding a sword. "Attack Masked Dragon!"

The warrior raised up her sword and it bean to glow. The blinding light hit Masked Dragon and it shattered to pieces.

"If you were thinking of using Masked Dragon's effect to summon another monster, then too bad. When Nanobreaker attacks monsters that are level 3 or lower, she automatically destroys them with her effect. I'll end my turn here."

(4000-4000) [3-3]

Casey thought about her next move as she drew a card. _'So much for being able to summon a high level monster with its effect...'_ She looked at the card she drew, which was Xing Zhen Hu.

"I'll set a card, and summon The Dragon dwelling in the Cave (1300/2000) in defense mode!" The set card appeared, and in a flash it disappeared. Next to her appeared a large green dragon, big and bulky, with its wings covering part of its face.

"Since my dragon is level four, you can't use your monster's effect to destroy it. Your turn."

(4000-4000) [4-4]

"Very nice... Now, here's something better. I'll activate the speed spell, Speed Fusion! By sending the Cannon Soldier and Giga-Tech Wolf in my hand, I can summon Labyrinth Tank (2400/2400) in attack mode!" The speed spell appeared, and the two monsters he discarded were sucked into the portal. In an instant, a large blue tank flew out of the portal, with multiple red drills on the front.

"What is that?" asked Casey.

"You know, most people care too much about getting better cards that they usually leave cards that they used to have behind. However, I actually see some value in these cards. I believe that with the right tools, these cards can beat anything. Like this." he said.

"I summon Cannon Wheel (Attack: 500) in attack mode!" A small wheel with two small laser cannons appeared on the field. "You see, he's a tuner. You'd be surprised what he can do. I tune him to my Nanobreaker!" The small wheel dissolved into two rings, and floated around Nanobreaker, who dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Bring forth a huge explosion! Bring forth annihilation to the cards! Synchro Summon! Roar engines, Combat Wheel (2500/1200)!"_

A large machine appeared floating behind him. It looked like a cyborg sitting on top of a mechanical throne equipped with many weapons, with the throne being on top of a large wheel.

"Here's how it works, the only monster you can possibly attack, is this guy. However, I can still attack you. Labyrinth Tank, attack her dragon!" The tank burst forward ripped the dragon to shreds with its drills.

"Next, Combat Wheel will attack you directly!" The powerful machine also burst forward, but its attack was intercepted by a monster that had suddenly appeared onto the shield. Combat Wheel stopped and went back to its owner's side of the field.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Easy. I activated my Call of the Haunted just before you attacked. I brought back my Masked Dragon to protect me. You going to attack it anyway?" she explained.

He growled. "Of course I am! Combat Wheel, crush that monster!" Combat Wheel turned towards the dragon and shot a missile at it, blowing it to pieces.

"Its your move now." he said as another Masked Dragon appeared on the field.

(2900-4000) [5-5]

Casey looked at the card she drew. It was Debris Dragon.

"I'll start by activating the trap card, Xing Zhen Hu!" One of her face-down cards revealed itself, and both of Blake's face-down cards glowed with a dark aura.

"This card allows me to choose two of your face-down cards and stop you from using them!

"Next, I'll summon Debris Dragon (1000/2000) in attack mode!" A silver dragon appeared next to Masked Dragon. It looked like a smaller, younger version of Stardust Dragon.

"Now, I'll tune him with my Masked Dragon!" Debris Dragon dissolved into four rings that floated around Masked dragon, who melted down into three glowing stars.

_"The ruler's shouts echo throughout! Hammer of victory, shatter the very earth! Synchro summon! Flap your wings, Exploder Dragonwing!"_

A large blue dragon appeared on the field. It had skinny legs and arms, its face resembled that of a fish, and had a large bulky tail.

"Next, I'll activate the continuous spell, Future Fusion! By sending monsters from my deck to the graveyard that are needed for a fusion monster, I can special summon that fusion monster to my field in two turns! Its your move." she said, discarding three cards that she took from her deck.

(2900-4000) [6-6]

Blake chuckled as he drew his next card. "You know, I can see that you are pretty good. However, if you want me to join you guys, you'll have to do better than that. I mean, if that synchro monster is your ace, then you need an upgrade!

"Anyways, its my move, and I'll have my Combat Wheel attack your monster!" Once again, Combat Wheel turned towards its target and launched a volley of missiles that blew it to pieces.

"Labyrinth Tank, attack her directly!" The tank charged towards her and rammed her, causing her to almost lose her balance. "I'll end my turn now."

(400-4000) [7-7]

Casey sighed as she drew her next card. Things were not going very well, but she hoped that she could stall him for one more turn. "I'll activate the speed spell, Angel Baton!" She drew two cards, Defense Draw, and Masked Dragon. "I'll set a card, and summon Masked Dragon (1400/1100) in defense mode! Your turn." Another Masked Dragon appeared next to her, shielding itself with its wings.

(400-4000) [8-8]

"Wow, you must be getting desperate. Its too bad that its almost over. Labyrinth Tank, attack her dragon!" The tank rammed through the small dragon with ease, shattering it to pieces. Then, a small group of humanoid dragon with weapons and shields appeared on the field, protecting themselves with their shields.

"Troop Dragon (700/800), huh? I see where this is going. Combat Wheel, blow it to pieces." Combat Wheel did as commanded, literally blowing them to pieces. Then, another Troop Dragon appeared on the field, also in defense mode.

"Your move now."

(400-4000) [9-9]

Casey looked at the card she drew. This time, she drew Negate attack. Still, she didn't have too big a problem with this. All she needed was a strong monster, and she could easily turn this around. Only problem is that she needed to survive another turn.

"I'll set a card and end my turn."

(400-4000) [10-10]

"You know that you can't just defend forever. You'll have to attack eventually." he said as he drew another card.

"I'll summon Bowganian (1300/1000) in defense mode!" A small robotic eye wielding a spear appeared on the field. "With this, I can guarantee that you don't make it past your next turn. Combat Wheel, destroy her Troop Dragon!" Combat Wheel faced its opponent and launched a missile at it, blowing it to shards. Another Troop Dragon appeared where the previous one was.

"Labyrinth Tank, destroy the last one!" The tank charged at her, but its attack was blocked by an invisible layer. When Blake looked at the monitor, he saw that she had activated her Negate Attack trap card. "I see. Then, its your turn."

(400-4000) [11-11]

Casey smiled as she drew her next card. "You know... I have to admit something. I haven't gotten used to this deck yet. This isn't really even my deck. It actually belongs to a friend of mine. A friend that I care about very deeply.

You see, I was an orphan in Satellite, and so was he. When we met, we felt like we had found a reason to stay alive. Since then, we looked out for each other, as best as we could. Then, one day, Security caught me under false charges and refused to release me for some reason. So, I was forced to rot in jail with all those other criminals that Neo Domino had rejected.

But then one day, almost a year ago, I was released. When I asked why, they told me that the real criminal had confessed to his crimes, and I was able to go. They wouldn't tell me who the guy was, but they gave me a deck of cards that he said he had stolen from me. When I looked at the cards in the deck, I realized that they belonged to him. Though the guards wouldn't let me speak to him, I found out from his friends that he had confessed to many false crimes just so that he could take my place. This deck is all I have left of him, but its just proof that even though he's far away from me, he still tries his best to protect me."

"Touching story, but what does this have to do with the duel?" he asked.

"Well, when I said he gave me his deck, I mean he _gave_ me his deck. Each of the cards that he used are right here, about to put your monsters to shame! Its been two turns since I activated Future Fusion, and now you are about to see the most powerful monster in this deck. Arise, Spike Dragon* (3900/1000)!"

The spell card began to glow, and shot out a powerful beam. From inside the beam, came out a large dragon, whose skin was a light blue color. Its wings were large, and it had massive spikes running down its head, through its back and to its tail. Its claws were massive and could pretty much crush anything in its path. It roared, causing powerful earthquakes to occur.

"You see, this monster has a pretty good effect. It gains 200 attack points for each Drill Dragon* in my graveyard, and since there's three, he gains 600 extra attack points!" The dragon roared once more as its attack points went up to 4500.

"Big deal! You only have this turn to beat me, and you've only got one monster on the field!"

"That's nice and all, but I'm not done yet. I'll activate the equip spell, Symbol of Heritage! When there are three monsters in my graveyard that are the same, I can special summon one of them to the field!" The card glowed, and another Masked Dragon appeared on the field. "Next, I'll sacrifice my Masked Dragon and my Troop Dragon to summon Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500) in attack mode!"

The two monsters dissolved into pixels of light and turned into a large and powerful dragon that was almost as big as Spike Dragon*, though it looked more like the traditional dragon and was a golden-brown color.

"Spike Dragon*, attack Combat Wheel!" The dragon released a fiery breath and melted the machine down to nothing.

"What?" said Casey, surprised when she saw his life points.

"That was close. You see, Combat Wheel has another effect. By simply discarding one card from my hand during your battle phase, I can increase its attack points by half of all the other monsters that I control. Fortunately, it was just enough to prevent me from losing too many life points in one hit."

Then, all of his monsters shattered to pixels.

"What happened?" asked Casey.

"Its all part of Combat Wheel's effect. When its destroyed after having used this effect, all of the monsters that I control are destroyed." he explained.

"In that case, Tyrant Dragon, attack him directly!" Tyrant Dragon took a deep breath, then released a blazing fiery breath that caused the defensive monster to shatter to pieces.

"Your move."

(400-950) [12-12]

"Not bad." said Blake. "Not bad at all. Still, its my turn. I'll start by activating the quick-play spell, Mystical Space Typhoon! Now your Xing Zhen Hu is gone!" Her trap card shattered as the powerful tornado ripped it apart.

"Now, I'll set one monster, and end my turn."

(400-950) [12-12]

Casey drew her next card. It was Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai.

"I'll set one card, and have Spike Dragon* attack you directly. Since I have Dragon's Rage on the field, the fact that its in defense mode won't make a difference in your life points!" Spike Dragon* released a fiery breath that destroyed the monster, but suddenly, a small mechanical bomb came out of nowhere and attached itself to his neck.

"Since you destroyed my Adhesive Explosive while it was set on the field, it attaches itself to the monster that destroyed it, and no damage calculation is applied, so your Dragon's Rage won't work this time. Also, your monster will be destroyed on the standby phase of your next turn."

"Maybe so, but I'll make sure there isn't a next turn. Tyrant Dragon, attack him directly!" The dragon's mighty and powerful breath was stopped by an invisible barrier.

"Since I discarded my Kuriboh, I'll take no battle damage from your attack."

"Fine..." she said. "I'll end my turn."

(400-950) [12-12]

"I'll start by summoning Black Salvo (100/1100) in attack mode!" A small monster in the shape of a bomb appeared, its cartoonish face looking sinister.

"Thanks to its effect, I can special summon one level four Dark attribute monster from my graveyard. So, here comes Cannon Soldier (1400/1300)!" A small, vaguely humanoid shaped, monster appeared, two large cannons on its back.

"Sadly, it must be summoned in defense mode, and its effect is negated. Still, its not like I need it. I'll tune my two monsters together..." Black Salvo dissolved into three rings that surrounded Cannon Soldier, turning it into four glowing stars.

There was a flash, and a large robot appeared on the field. It resembled a robotic version of a large bomber jet.

"Synchro summon! Dark Strike Fighter (2600/1800)!"

"That thing can't beat either one of my monsters!"

"It doesn't have to." said Blake. "You see, when I synchro summon a synchro monster, I get to special summon Synchro Magnet (1000/600) from my hand." A small robotic top with small arms and a cartoonish face appeared next to Dark Strike Fighter.

"You think my objective is to get rid of your monster. That is not true. I don't even have to go that far. By activating my Dark Strike Fighter's effect, I can sacrifice one of the monsters on my side of the field, and you take 200 points of damage times the level of the monster! So by sacrificing my Synchro Magnet, I win this duel!"

The tuner dissolved into shards of light, and Dark Strike Fighter released a powerful gust of wind at Casey. However, at the same time, Casey activated her trap card. "By activating the trap card Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai, I can sacrifice my Tyrant Dragon and make you take damage equal to its attack points!"

The dragon's fiery breath reached Blake at the same time that Dark Strike Fighter's powerful gust of wind reached Casey. Their Duel Runners stopped at the same time, both their life points having reached zero.

With a disappointed look on her face, Casey took off her helmet. "Well, I guess this means you can go. Sorry for having wasted your time..."

Blake walked over to her. "What are you talking about? That was a great duel!"

"Thanks. But I challenged you. Since it was a draw, you are free to do as you wish."

"Really? Well then, tell me where to sign up for your team."

Casey looked at him with a shocked expression. "Really? You want to join our team?"

"Yeah. You are a great duelist. If your whole team is this great, then maybe it would be fun to join you guys."

Casey smiled. "Great!" She handed him a card. "This has our address and our number. See you tomorrow."

Blake nodded, and they mounted their Duel Runners, each one headed their separate ways. Casey for one, was extremely glad that she was able to recruit the fourth member that they were looking for. Tonight, there would be good news among the team.

As she rode back to the apartment, she thought about the duel, and what she told Blake. _'Matsu... Why did you have to go so far for me...? Thanks to you, all I have left of you is your deck...' _she thought.

* * *

On the other side of town, is a small club. Due to all the crime bosses and criminals that like to hang out around here, they never gave the club an official name. (Doing this would make it easier to track down, and with the clientele that they served, letting this place be easy to find by Security would be a grave mistake.)

At the same time as Casey's duel, something was going on here. An arsonist known as Hikazu 'Blaze' Minato was standing face to face with a duelist named Phantom. The same one who had caught two extremely wanted criminals the night before. He was surrounded by quite a few of his henchmen, and looked a bit irritated by Phantom.

Hikazu was an individual with an arrogant personality. He was a hot-headed, red-haired, arsonist who believed that those who didn't see things his way should be able to see at all. His Fire deck was a perfect example of how he was. Whenever something was done, he would always retaliate, no matter how insignificant or unimportant it may have been.

"Alright. What is that you want?" asked Blaze.

"Hikazu Minato, you are wanted by Sector Security on multiple charges, including arson and murder. Are you willing to turn yourself in quietly, or are we going to have a problem here?

Blaze laughed. "You think I'm scared of you? I heard the news. So you caught a couple of high-profile criminals. Chances are, they didn't even know what they were doing to let themselves get caught like that. If you think anything like that is going to happen to me, then you are mistaken."

"You really believe that? Then how about a duel? If I win, you come in quietly. If you win, then you can go."

"What makes you think that I will do as you say? I could just as easily have my men beat you up and get the hell out of this place."

"Really?" said Phantom. "Well, your men wouldn't make it, and in case you actually do try to run, I'm wearing a wire. If you don't duel me, then I could easily activate the device that transmits everything I've recorded that you've said and will have Sector Security here faster than I'll let you get out."

"Fine." said Blaze as someone handed him a Duel Disk. "You want to duel, then let's duel."

"Good." replied Phantom, his Duel Disk activating.

(4000-4000)

"I think I'll start this duel." said Blaze. "I'm about to teach you what happens when you go around town playing hero. First, I'll start by setting two cards on the field, and then I'll set a monster. Your move." The holograms of the set cards appeared before him, a smirk on Blaze's face.

(4000-4000)

"Alright..." said Phantom as he drew a card. He examined his hand. It consisted of: Spell Absorption, Magical Exemplar, Fissure, Rapid-Fire Magician, Mage Power, and Pot of Greed.

"I'll set two cards, and summon Rapid-Fire Magician (1600/1200) in attack mode!" His two set cards appeared behind a young spellcaster with purple armor that was wielding two staffs.

"Rapid-Fire Magician, attack his set monster!" The young spellcaster raised up his staff and shot a fireball at the set monster. A shrouded beast had appeared on the card just before it went up in flames.

"Thanks." said Blaze. "When the Ting in the Crater is destroyed, I get to special summon one Pyro-Type monster from my hand. Say hello to Mr. Volcano (2100/1300)!" The monster that appeared next was a young man dressed in red clothes. He wore a red cape, and had white gloves on that were flame-resistant. He had spiky red hair, and it was obvious that the look that Blaze sported was based off of the one from this monster.

"I'll end my turn now."

(4000-4000)

"I'll start by activating the trap card, Backfire!" One of his set cards lifted up. "Thanks to this card, you'll take 500 points of damage whenever you destroy a Fire attribute monster. Up next, I'll activate the spell card, Terraforming!" He took a card from his deck. "This allows me to take one field spell from my deck, and add it to my hand. And I think I'll play it. I activate, Molten Destruction!"

The field changed suddenly. No longer was it a normal underground club. Now, it was a prehistoric jungle, and a large volcano stood at its center, spewing lava into the air.

"This card gives all Fire monsters an extra 500 attack points at the cost of 400 defense points!"

Mr. Volcano smiled as its attack points rose to 2600.

"Next up, I'll summon Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000) in attack mode!" A large dragon made up of lava and lava rocks appeared next to Mr. Volcano, its attack points increasing to 2000 points.

"Solar Flare Dragon, attack his Rapid-Fire Magician!" The dragon wrapped itself around the young spellcaster, constricting until it turned it to ashes.

"Mr. Volcano, attack him directly!" Mr. Volcano raised his hand at Phantom and released a burst of fire that consumed him.

"I'll end my turn, and when Solar Flare Dragon is on my field during the end phase of my turn, you lose 500 Life Points! Not only that, but Solar Flare Dragon cannot be targeted for an attack while there is another Pyro-Type monster on my field."

(500-4000)

"Ha! I knew you were just a fluke! And when I'm done with this duel, I'll have my men beat you until you learn your lesson." said Blaze.

"Right... First, I summon Magical Exemplar (1700/1400) in attack mode!" A young woman wearing a jade robe appeared on the field. "Next, I'll activate the continuous spell card, Spell Absorption! With this card, I gain 500 Life Points every time a spell card is activated. Up next, I'll activate Fissure! Your Solar Flare Dragon is gone!"

Underneath Solar Flare Dragon, a large hole opened, and a large hand grabbed it and dragged it down, the hole closing soon after.

"Next, I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Which means that I now have an extra 1000 Life Points."

As each spell was activated, Magical Exemplar created two small blue fireballs that revolved around her.

"Now, I'll activate her effect. Each time a spell card is activated, she gains two spell counters. I activated three, so that means that I can remove them to special summon Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third* (2200/500) in attack mode!" A young spellcaster appeared before him. He had short blue hair, wore green robes, and was wielding a staff that had a crystal orb that kept changing color.

"You went to all this trouble just to summon him?" Blaze laughed. "Seems pretty weak. It better have a good effect if you want to beat my monsters."

"Oh, its got a good effect..." replied Phantom. "However, its not needed for this type of duel."

Blaze looked at him, confused.

"You see, the true power of this monster comes from others. You know how alchemy works, right? For alchemy, you need to trade something so that you can create something else that's of equal value. It kind of works the same way with this guy." he said.

"By trading him and another monster, I can special summon a different monster, one that can take down yours. Sadly, I don't have the monster needed for this summon."

Then Blaze started laughing. "Then why did you summon him?"

"Its because I have something else. I'll activate the equip spell, Combo Platter*!" The spell card appeared on the field behind Alchimie. It had a picture of a large banquet with different types of food. Alchimie began to glow as the spell began to take effect, and so did Phantom as Spell Absorption took effect and gave him more life points.

"This card solves the problem that I have. By removing Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third* while he's equipped with this card, the equip spell will take the place of any or all of the monsters needed for the summon of a monster with 'Alchimie' in its name. So, I'll remove Alchimie and Combo Platter* from the game, I can special summon..."

The young spellcaster disappeared into a portal along with the equip spell. From the portal burst a slightly older version of himself. This one was equipped with red armor, had two flaming wings, and wielded a sword similar to the one that Flame Swordsman uses. It looked at Blaze with raging fury in its eyes.

Blaze looked back at it, afraid. He knew that this monster was more powerful than it seemed...

**End of Chapter 3.

* * *

**

_Phantom has managed to even the odds with the monster he's summoned, but will it be enough to turn things around? And what will happen to Casey and the rest of her team? Find out in: Light of Intervention!

* * *

_

A/N: Cliffhangers are fun, huh?

* * *

**----CARD ALBUM----**

Spike Dragon - Monster Card

Type: Dragon/Fusion

Attribute: Wind

Level: 10

ATK: 3900

DEF: 1000

Effect:

"Drill Dragon + Drill Dragon + Drill Dragon"

This card can only be Fusion Summoned by fusing the above monsters. This card gains 200 attack points for every Drill Dragon* in your graveyard. Once per turn, you can remove one Drill Dragon* in your graveyard from play to prevent this card from being destroyed. (Damage calculation is still applied.)

* * *

Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third - Monster Card

Type: Spellcaster

Attribute: Light

Level: 6

ATK: 2200

DEF: 500

Effect: Discard one card from your hand to negate the activation of a card that changes the attribute of this monster and destroy it.

* * *

Combo Platter! - Spell Card

Type: Equip

Effect: Equip only to 'Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third'. When you special summon a monster with 'Alchimie' in its name, and this card is equipped to 'Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third', you can substitute this card for any or all of the other monsters that are listed on the requirements of the monster you are about to special summon, as long as 'Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third' is the other required monster that is listed on the card.


	4. Chapter 4: Light of Intervention

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times by Sum 41  


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**Chapter 4: Light of Intervention!**

Phantom was standing before Hikazu 'Blaze' Minato. It was now Phantom's turn, and he was falling behind at a considerable rate. All he had was this one turn to even the odds, or else things would get worse, and losing the duel would be the least of his worries.

(500-4000)

"Ha! I knew you were just a fluke! And when I'm done with this duel, I'll have my men beat you until you learn your lesson." said Blaze.

"Right... First, I summon Magical Exemplar (1700/1400) in attack mode!" A young woman wearing a jade robe appeared on the field. "Next, I'll activate the continuous spell card, Spell Absorption! With this card, I gain 500 Life Points every time a spell card is activated. Up next, I'll activate Fissure! Your Solar Flare Dragon is gone!"

Underneath Solar Flare Dragon, a large hole opened, and a large hand grabbed it and dragged it down, the hole closing soon after.

"Next, I'll activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Which means that I now have an extra 1000 Life Points."

As each spell was activated, Magical Exemplar created two small blue fireballs that revolved around her.

"Now, I'll activate her effect. Each time a spell card is activated, she gains two spell counters. I activated three, so that means that I can remove them to special summon Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third* (2200/500) in attack mode!" A young spellcaster appeared before him. He had short blue hair, wore green robes, and was wielding a staff that had a crystal orb that kept changing color.

"You went to all this trouble just to summon him?" Blaze laughed. "Seems pretty weak. It better have a good effect if you want to beat my monsters."

"Oh, its got a good effect..." replied Phantom. "However, its not needed for this type of duel."

Blaze looked at him, confused.

"You see, the true power of this monster comes from others. You know how alchemy works, right? For alchemy, you need to trade something so that you can create something else that's of equal value. It kind of works the same way with this guy." he said.

"By trading him and another monster, I can special summon a different monster, one that can take down yours. Sadly, I don't have the monster needed for this summon."

Then Blaze started laughing. "Then why did you summon him?"

"Its because I have something else. I'll activate the equip spell, Combo Platter*!" The spell card appeared on the field behind Alchimie. It had a picture of a large banquet with different types of food. Alchimie began to glow as the spell began to take effect, and so did Phantom as Spell Absorption took effect and gave him more life points.

"This card solves the problem that I have. By removing Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third* while he's equipped with this card, the equip spell will take the place of any or all of the monsters needed for the summon of a monster with 'Alchimie' in its name. So, I'll remove Alchimie and Combo Platter* from the game, I can special summon..."

The young spellcaster disappeared into a portal along with the equip spell. From the portal burst a slightly older version of himself. This one was equipped with red armor, had two flaming wings, and wielded a sword similar to the one that Flame Swordsman uses. It looked at Blaze with raging fury in its eyes.

Blaze looked back at it, afraid. He knew that this monster was more powerful than it seemed...

"...Alchimie - Flaming Dragon* (2200/1350) in attack mode!"

The monster's armor began to catch on fire, the field spell had begun to affect it. "Also, its a Fire attribute monster, so it gains the bonus from your field spell!" Alchimie roared as its attack points went up to 2700, while its defense points lowered to 950.

"Alchimie, attack Mr. Volcano!" The monster raised its sword, and flew at Mr. Volcano, cutting it in two.

"Next, Magical Exemplar will get a shot at your Life Points!" The young spellcaster shot a magical orb at Blaze, hitting him in the chest.

"I think that's enough for this turn."

(1500-2200)

The people surrounding them were just as amazed at what had happened as Blaze. Not only had it been amazing to witness Blaze pull off an almost one-turn kill, but it was even more amazing to witness Phantom turn it all around and regain half of his total Life Points, flip the status of the field, and take out almost half of Blaze's Life Points too.

Whispers and mutterings were being heard all over. If one caught wind of what they were saying, they would most likely hear approvals over Phantom's dueling, and insults over Blaze himself. Seems that he wasn't very liked around here... Still, this was all interrupted by Blaze starting his next turn.

"My Backfire is still in effect. Which means you can't hurt me without hurting yourself. Also, I'll activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Mr. Volcano!" Mr. Volcano appeared on his field once more, with an irritated look on his face. "You can bet he's going to be mad after what you did, but don't worry, he'll get his revenge soon. I summon Flamvell Baby (800/200) in attack mode!"

A small sprite made completely out of fire appeared next to Mr. Volcano. "Next, I'll tune him and Mr. Volcano together!" Flamvell Baby became a green ring that floated around as he turned into five glowing stars.

_"Sparks ignite into flames! Let your wild spirit run free! Set this place ablaze, Flamvell Urquizas (2100/400)!"_

From the flames created by Flamvell Baby arose a tall man, of about six feet in height. He had long blue hair and wore a dark red/brown jumpsuit, his wrists creating a never-ending ring of flames.

Flamvell Urquizas blazed as its attack points went up to 2600. "I know it seems like its too weak to destroy your monster, but we'll get to that soon. Flamvell Urquizas, attack Magical Exemplar!" Urquizas leaped into the air, and threw a fiery punch at Magical Exemplar as he came down with a crashing force.

"You see, Urquizas has a lovely effect. Not only does he get the boost from Molten Destruction, but he also gains 300 extra attack points every time it inflicts battle damage!" Once again, the flames around Urquizas' wrists became even more wild as his attack points went up to 3000.

"Your move."

(600-2200)

"Looks like things are back to how it should be. With me beating you down into the ground! Don't underestimate your opponent..." said Blaze as Phantom drew a card.

"Don't assume things... You know what they say when you assume..." said Phantom, causing Blaze to glare at him as he was insulted.

Phantom looked at the card in his hand. It was Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai. _'Good... This will provide me with a backup plan...' _he thought.

"I'll set a card, and activate Mage Power, and equip it onto my Alchimie." Alchimie glowed as it gained the power from the equip spell, its attack points going all the way up to 4200. "Thanks to this, my monster gains 500 extra attack and defense points for every spell or trap card on my field. Not only that, but since I activated a spell card, I gain an extra 500 Life Points from the effect of Spell Absorption!" Phantom glowed with a green aura as the spell increased his Life Points.

"Alchimie, destroy his Flamvell Urquizas!" Alchimie shot a powerful fireball out of his hands that blew Urquizas to pieces.

From the Fireback trap card, another fireball shot out, hitting Phantom in the chest. "I end my turn."

(600-1000)

Blaze looked at the field as he drew his next card. Anger was surging through him. _'Damn it...! This guy... He's countered everything I've done during this whole duel! Don't tell me that he knew what was in my deck before he came to duel me? Its like he studied the cards in my deck and prepared a counter for each one!'_ thought Blaze.

He looked at the cards in his hand. He didn't have much to go on. Still, he might be able to pull off a win, though it would be risky.

"Funny thing about fire... Its always hard to put out..." he said, a evil smile on his face. "I've noticed that no matter what I do, you always have a card to counter it. You may have destroyed my Urquizas, but he's not the only strong monster in this deck. Before him, I had another ace, and you are about to see it right now!"

Blaze laughed as Alchimie disappeared. "What happened to my monster?" asked Phantom.

"The only way to summon this monster is by sacrificing one monster on your side of the field. However, when it is summoned, it is summoned to your side of the field." A large dragon made out of magma and lava rocks floated behind Phantom.

"Meet Volcanic Queen (2500/1200), and she's got a nasty effect! When your turn ends, either you sacrifice a monster on your field, or you take 1000 points of damage. Though you could easily send one monster you control to the grave to deal 1000 points of damage to your opponent. Let me make things easier for you. I'll remove the Flamvell Baby in my graveyard to special summon Inferno (1100/1900) in defense mode."

The effect of Molten Destruction activated, increasing Volcanic Queen's attack points to 3000, and increasing Inferno's attack points to 1600, though it decreased its defense to 1500.

Then, Volcanic Queen shot out a powerful fireball that engulfed Blaze and reduced his Life Points to zero. Blaze fell to his knees, and looked at Phantom, wondering what happened.

"I already knew where this was going," said Phantom. "Which is why I was glad I set Spiritual Fire Art - Kurenai on the turn before. Honestly, I didn't even know you had that card, but I still set it as a precaution. Looks like it was a good thing too. Thanks to it, I was able to destroy Volcanic Queen and inflict damage to your life points equal to her original attack points."

The crowd stood silent. Most were shocked, others were speechless. Eventually, insults aimed at Blaze came from the crowd, with many people laughing at him. Blaze drew a knife from his sleeve, and charged at Phantom.

Minutes later, Security arrived on the scene. The crowd had long since left, and the only one there was Blaze, now with a black eye and multiple bruises. He was unconscious, handcuffed to a nearby table.

Trudge looked around as the other members of Sector Security hauled Blaze away. "Man... I wonder if this was all caused by Phantom too... That guy seems to do our job better than us!" he said, rubbing his head.

"Oh well, I guess that as long as he's not breaking any laws, we can't bother him..."

He mounted his standardized Duel Runner, the one made for members of Sector Security, and left the scene with all the other squad cars.

From out of the hidden rooms in the building came out a man dressed in a suit, with long hair tied up into a ponytail, and dark sunglasses. "Well, well. I see they have already met... Good. All I need to do now is find the other members, and that shouldn't be hard at all..." The man chuckled as he disappeared in a shroud of darkness.

* * *

At around seven am the next morning, Casey awoke to the sound of the television. She walked over to the kitchen, surprised to see that there wasn't anything prepared, and that Akira was focused on the news over in the living room, with his laptop in his hands.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Watching the news. Another criminal was caught by Sector Security after Phantom defeated them in a duel." he replied.

"You seem awfully fixated on this guy." she said, pointing to all the news articles and web-pages open in his computer.

"Well, I'm just curious. This guy goes after many of the criminals that Sector Security has failed to catch. Not only that, but he always seems to be at the right place, at the right time... He always defeats his opponents, and Sector Security shows up a while later to arrest the criminal that he defeated. According to them, they keep getting distress calls, but when they show up to the place where the signal was coming from, all they found was a captured criminal."

"Sounds suspicious, but why do you care so much?"

"I guess you can just label me a conspiracy theorist..."

She shrugged as she went into the kitchen, examining the contents of the refrigerator. "Hm... Not much in here that I can cook myself... Hey, Akira, can you whip something up?"

"Huh?" he asked, snapping out of his trance. "Food? Oh yeah. Just give me a few minutes."

Akira took all of the stuff he had surrounding him and put them to the side, scrambling to the kitchen. Just then, Zeke walked into the kitchen, confused when he saw what was happening. "Uh..."

"Don't ask." said Casey. He shrugged, deciding it was probably best to listen to her in this case. He sat down on the chair next to her, and put a deck of cards there. Casey looked at it, curious. "A deck. Why'd you put it in the middle of the kitchen table?"

Zeke smiled. "Its a brand new deck. I went around town and searched for the cards needed to make it. Sure, it still needs a few more cards until its fully complete, but this will do for the time being."

"Cool. You going to use it in the WRGP?"

Zeke shook his head. "Nope. You are."

It took a moment for Casey to realize what he meant. "Wait... Me? Why?"

"I already have a deck, and you need a deck to use for the competition."

"I have a deck already."

"No. You have Matsu's deck. Though I do admit its great, you are going to have to learn to rely on your own cards, not someone else's."

Casey frowned. She knew he was right, but she just couldn't part with that deck. It was all she had left of him. She grabbed the deck and examined its contents. "I see what you mean by it being incomplete, but I still appreciate it. Thanks." She got up and hugged him as she went to her room to further study it.

Once the door behind her had closed, Akira turned towards Zeke with a serious look on his face.

"What?" asked Zeke.

"You act like you've forgiven her for what's happened." he replied.

"You act like she even knows the truth about what's happened."

Akira shook his head. "Good point, but do you seriously forgive her for what she's done? I mean, you know what day it is today."

"Well, of course I do. And for your information, I do forgive her. You seriously need to let this go. I mean, its been a year since its happened. Its been an entire year since we found out that Matsu was transferred to the Aguerris Center, mostly due to all those charges Sector Security dug up pressed on Casey."

"It still isn't fair, though! All Casey had to do was show up and plead guilty, and those charges would most likely be dropped! Despite us trying to convince her of that, she still denied, saying she wouldn't want to go anywhere near that courtroom! If it wasn't for her, we would all be sitting here with Matsu, laughing, and enjoying our lives the way we always planned on doing..." said Akira.

"Complain about it all you want, we never told her about the consequences, and this is where we are now. All we can do is make the best of it, and hope that the prize money from this competition will be enough to pay for Matsu's bail." replied Zeke.

Akira sighed. "Yeah, I guess. That judge was obviously bribed, though! I mean, one-hundred million yen just to free him? You realize how hard that is to get? Our Duel Runners aren't as good as they could be due to us saving so much money for this. Anyways..." he said, trailing off as he resumed cooking.

Zeke shook his head and looked out the window. He could tell it was going to be a difficult day today. "You know, first there's Ghost running around the streets, and now there's Phantom. Seems like each day something new comes up..."

He turned his attention to the television, which was left on and was now on the news, talking about the WRGP.

"Like this..." said Zeke, causing Akira to look over to see what he was talking about.

_"So far, all the teams in this competition have been matched up with some pretty fierce opponents. Except for Team Inferno, who had been declared winner by default due to the uneven number of teams, until now, that is." _said the reporter.

"Until now?" said Zeke, shocked. "Does that mean that we have an opponent now?"

_"After a last minute entry into the competition, Team Inferno will now be facing Team Enigmatic in the first round of the WRGP."_

Akira was speechless. "We have an opponent now? This means that Casey won't have as much time as we thought to practice her turbo dueling skills." he said.

"Don't worry. I think we'll be fine. We did get a new member, didn't we? Besides, we can dig up some info on this team later on and figure out how to beat them." Zeke said, trying to reassure him.

* * *

At around nine am that morning, in the Tops District of Neo Domino City, Kai was awoken to the sound of fists hitting the door.

"Kai, wake up and open the door already!" said Tueur, stopping as soon as he saw Kai open the door.

"What is it?" he asked him.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us that you entered us in the WRGP! This is amazing!"

Kai looked at him, confused.

"The WRGP? I never entered us in that..."

"Are you kidding me? You must have! We got a letter telling us that our registration had been made official! According to this, we are now Team Enigmatic!" he said cheerfully.

He knew he had never entered this, and based on Tueur's attitude, he didn't enter this either. He doubted that Greuto or Crusher would try this without telling him anything, so that only left Yeager.

"Really? Well then, I guess we'll be having a bit of fun already, huh?" he finally replied.

"Seems so. It says that we'll be going up against Team Inferno. I looked them up. They seem pretty good, but I'm sure we can beat them."

"Okay then. Mind letting me get some more sleep, then?" he asked.

Tueur chuckled. "Alright, alright." he said as he left.

Kai closed the door behind him and locked it, thinking about all this. _'Why would Yeager enter us in the WRGP? Guess I'll have to ask him later.'_ he thought, going back to sleep.

* * *

Around the same time, Casey and Zeke were outside of their apartment, dueling each other. Casey had been given a new deck, and she had to break it in. They had activated their duel disks, the duel about to start. Akira watched them from the entrance to the building, wanting to get a clear view of the duel.

(4000-4000)

"I'll start." said Zeke. "I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn." The image of two cards appeared before him. One was a monster, the other was a spell or trap.

(4000-4000)

Casey wasn't sure what he was planning, but she wasn't going to wait around. She drew a card and looked at her hand. She held Level Up, Reinforcements of the Army, Level Modulation, Curse of Royal, Marauding Captain, and Shadow Spell.

"I'll start by activating the spell card, Reinforcements of the Army, allowing me to add a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck to my hand!" A card stood out from her deck and she took it. It was Educated Student Lv. 3.

"Next, I summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) in attack mode!" The young warrior appeared on the field, wielding his famous dual swords. "Thanks to his effect, I am able to special summon Educated Student Lv. 3* (1500/100) in attack mode." The young child wearing a school uniform appeared next to Marauding Captain, wielding a spellbook of sorts.

"Also, I'll set two cards, and activate Level Up! Now I can power up my Educated Student Lv. 3* to level five!" The young child began to glow with a yellow light, and aged into a teenage version of himself. It was Educated Student Lv. 5* (2200/1500).

"Marauding Captain, attack his monster!" Marauding Captain charged at the set monster and cut it in two. An image of an Owl of Luck flashed before the card turned into pixels.

"Educated Student, attack him directly!" The teenage warrior did as commanded. He opened up his spellbook and pulled out a chain with a dagger attached at the end of it. He spun it around and threw it at Zeke, hitting him in the arm.

"Your turn."

(4000-1800)

"Not bad, but by destroying an Owl of Luck, I can add a field spell to the top of my deck, and since its my turn now, I get to draw that card."

He looked at it, and smiled. "Now, to start my turn, I summon Wind Effigy (1800/200) in attack mode." A small tornado appeared before Zeke, hiding a type of bird. "Next, I'll activate the effect of Double Summon, allowing me make another summon during this turn. So, I'll sacrifice my Wind Effigy to summon Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry (2900/2000)!"

The twisting tornado grew in size until it reached over twenty feet in height. Then, it stopped to reveal a large golden eagle with four golden wings hovering behind Zeke.

"Now here's how it all goes down. With Simorgh on the field, we can summon Wind attribute monsters with one less tribute than needed. Also, since Wind Effigy counts as two sacrifices when being used to tribute summon a Wind attribute monster, it activates his other effect. Since I summoned him by sacrificing two Wind attribute monsters, he can return up to two spell or trap cards on the field to its owner's hand!"

Simorgh flapped its wings and Casey's two set cards disappeared from the field, returning to her hand.

"I believe you remember what happened when you destroyed my Owl of Luck. Since I drew that card at the beginning of my turn, I can activate it." He placed a card on his duel disk, and the area surrounding them became tall mountains. "While the field spell Mountain is on the field, all of my winged-beasts get an extra 200 attack and defense points!" Simorgh screeched as its attack points went up to 3100.

Casey stood shocked. She knew exactly what was coming next. Akira, however, was impressed. It seemed like Zeke still had it after all this time. Being able to summon such a strong monster was one thing, but being able to summon Simorgh, a monster that decreases the amount of tributes needed for the summoning of Wind attribute monsters was another thing in its entirety.

"Simorgh, destroy Marauding Captain!" The large bird swooped down and grabbed Marauding Captain with its foot, the warrior trying desperately to fight back as the bird crushed him into pieces.

"I end my turn."

(2100-1800)

* * *

The strange man dressed in a suit was in a garage at the moment. He stood silent, listening to the duel going on outside. After a few minutes, he directed his attention to the Duel Runners. "Pretty good Duel Runners... I feel kind of bad doing this, but it must be done..." Grabbing tools from the nearest toolbox in the room, he began to work on them, switching parts around and taking some out.

He did this on each of the Duel Runners, having started with Casey's first, and then ended with Akira's. Once he was done, he turned to the computer, opening all files that were about the Duel Runners and completely changing what was written on them, even deleting some files.

Whoever this man was, it was obvious that he was planning to sabotage their Duel Runners...

* * *

(2100-1800)

Casey drew a card and began her turn. She knew that Zeke had made a great move, but she had to counter it, and quickly. She looked at the card she drew. It was Educated Draw*. "I'll set two cards and activate the spell card, Educated Draw*! Thanks to this, I can look at the top six cards of my deck. Then, I pick three of them and I add them to my hand, while the other three are removed from play."

She picked up the top six cards of her deck and looked at the contents. It had Board of Education*, Advanced Spellbook*, Protective Whistle*, Turret Warrior, Freed The Matchless General, and Command Knight.

She took Board of Education*, Advanced Spellbook*, and Turret Warrior and added them to her hand, pocketing the other three cards.

"I activate my Educated Student's effect, allowing me to remove him from play to special summon Educated Student Lv. 7* (2800/2000) from my deck in attack mode!" The teenage student glowed with a yellow light again, and became an older version of himself.

"Now, I'll use the spell card, Level Modulation. You get to draw two cards, but I get to special summon a 'Lv' monster from my graveyard, like my Educated Student Lv. 3*." The youngest version of Educated Student appeared next to the older version, causing them to look at each other curiously.

"Up next, I'll activate the effect of my Turret Warrior (1200/2000), allowing me to special summon it from my hand by getting rid of a warrior on my field, and then adding that monster's attack points onto his."

The youngest version of Educated Student disappeared in a flash of light, and the large mechanical tower that was Turret Warrior appeared instead. It posed as its attack points went up to 2700.

"Last but not least, I'll activate the equip spell, Advanced Spellbook*! By equipping this to my Educated Student, his attack points are increased by 700 points!" The spellbook that the warrior held glowed and changed into a more modern, smaller version of itself, while its attack points became 3500.

"Your turn."

(2100-1800)

Zeke looked at her field in amazement. "Not bad. I knew you'd get the hang of that deck pretty quickly. Still, I hope you learned it well enough to defeat me. I use Simorgh's effect to summon Raiza, the Storm Monarch (2400/1000)!" A large humanoid bird wearing green armor appeared next to Simorgh, which then screeched as its attack points rose to 2600 due to Mountain's effect.

"And now his effect activates, allowing me to return one card on the field to the top of its owner's deck when he's tribute summoned successfully." Raiza raised its hand and powerful winds caused Educated Student Lv. 7* to disappear.

"Up next, I'll equip Simorgh with Follow Wind, raising its attack points by 300." Simorgh screeched as its attack points rose to 3400.

"Attack Turret Warrior!" The large bird attempted to fly over to Turret Warrior and tear him to shreds, but a bunch of chains tied themselves around him and wouldn't let him move.

"Good thing I activated Shadow Spell, or else I wouldn have been in trouble. What are you going to do now?" said Casey as Simorgh's attack points decreased to 2400.

"I'll set two cards, and end my turn."

(2200-1800)

Casey drew another card. _'That was close. I was actually going to do that before, but thanks to his monster's effect, having to add them back to my hand caused too much trouble.'_ she thought.

Due to Raiza's effect, the only card she could have drawn was Educated Student Lv. 7*, and it was useless at the moment.

"I activate Board of Education*! This spell card allows me to take a level four or lower 'Educated' monster from my deck and special summon it to the field. So, I'll use it to summon Educated Spellcaster* (1000/100) in attack mode!" A young spellcaster wielding a staff and dressed in black robes appeared on the field.

"Now, I get to activate its effect. I can special summon one level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my graveyard, though its effect is negated and it is removed from play at the end my turn."

Educated Student Lv. 3* appeared on the field again, looking slightly disoriented.

"Of course that won't matter, cause he's also a tuner, and I'm tuning him to my Educated Student Lv. 3*!"

Educated Spellcaster* became three green rings that floated around Educated Student Lv. 3* as he dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight* (2500/1900)!"_

A knight covered in gold and silver armor appeared in the field, wielding a powerful sword of light and a strong shield.

"My knight has some pretty powerful effects, too. You see, not only is he immune to destruction by battle, but by sending one monster in my hand to the graveyard, he can increase his attack points by half of the attack points of the discarded monster."

She discarded the Educated Student Lv. 7* in her hand, and Educated Knight's* attack points rose to 3900.

"Turret Warrior, destroy Raiza!" Turret Warrior began shooting at Raiza, destroying him.

"Next, Educated Knight* attacks your Simorgh!" The knight charged at Simorgh and cut it in half.

It was now that Casey noticed two important things. One, that Zeke's life points were hardly any different now than before. And two, that a spell card had been activated.

"Not quite. You see, I managed to activate the quickplay spell, Swallow's Nest. It allows me to get rid of one winged beast on the field, and summon another of the same level."

Now, another monster had appeared. A large and powerful falcon floated on the field, its head protected by a thick metal helmet. Its long colorful tail was almost as long as its wings.

"Meet Mystic Falcon* (2900/2200)!"

Casey looked at the large falcon, awestruck. This was Zeke's ace monster. It screeched as its attack points rose to 3100, due to Mountain's effect.

"So what now? Are you going to attack, or will you end your turn?"

Casey looked at the field. She could obviously attack him, but with his set card, she knew it might be a mistake.

"I'll end my turn now." she said.

(2200-1700)

"My move." he said, placing a card on his Duel Disk. "I'll equip my Mystic Falcon* the equip spell, Megamorph!"

The large falcon screeched as its attack points rose to 6000.

"Since your knight's effect has worn off, its attack points are once again 2500, and with your life points, one attack from my monster shall finish you. Mystic Falcon, destroy her knight!"

The falcon opened its beak as much as it could, then it shot out a powerful beam that went through her knight and hit her, knocking her back on her feet

The monsters faded out as her Life Points dropped to zero, Zeke walking over to her to help her up.

"Good duel. You learn fast. Hopefully, when the WRGP begins, you'll be ready to take on some fierce opponents." he said.

"Thanks. What do you mean, though? I thought we wouldn't enter until the semi-finals."

"That's what we thought," said Akira. "but it seems that there was a last minute entry into the WRGP. Our opponents shall be the very mysterious Team Enigmatic. I already tried to dig up some info on them, but there isn't any record of them at all."

"So, we must be prepared for anything, and duel them with all our might." said Zeke.

Casey nodded. "Yeah. We are in this to win it!"

* * *

It was almost six pm. In Yeager's office, there were two people. One, was Yeager. The other, was Kai.

"Are you responsible for us being in the WRGP?" he asked him.

"Maybe. Does it make any difference who signed you up? You are going to duel anyway." Yeager replied.

"Listen, you!" replied Kai in anger. "I want you to take us out of this competition. We just got out of jail. The last thing we want is to go back to turbo dueling like this. Especially such a short time after being released!"

"I'm afraid you have no choice. If you don't participate, I'll have no choice but to nullify the contract, and throw you back in jail." said Yeager, laughing. "So you either duel in this competition, or you go back to jail. And if I did my research correctly, there's still a few things that you have to do here before you ever allow yourself to go back to jail, am I right?"

Kai glared at him, then turned around and left the office, slamming the door as he exited.

"Interesting," said a voice from behind Yeager. "Could it be that your plan isn't working out the way you wanted it to?"

Yeager turned around to see a man standing before his window. He was dressed in the same military uniform used by members of the U.S. army. He was muscular, though not as muscular as Crusher.

"Brutus... What the hell? How did you find me?" answered Yeager.

"Its not that hard, really. First off, I already knew that the real Yeager had run away quite some time ago, so when I heard that people were still receiving orders from him, I knew there was something suspicious. Then, there's your lousy disguise. You know that only works on mortals, Payne."

A shroud of darkness engulfed Yeager, and when it disappeared, a man in a suit with dark sunglasses was there instead.

"How foolish of me. Oh well... What are you doing here, anyways?" asked Payne.

"I wanted to see how the competition is doing. After all, you guys claim to be so great, I wanted to know if you could back that up."

"Spying, is more like it." hissed Payne. "Doesn't matter. When this is all over, you guys will have learned a thing or two."

"Like what? How a bunch of rejects fall before our might? You guys tried this once, what makes you think you can pull it off the second time?"

Payne laughed. "Oh, that's something you'll learn soon enough. Trust me, this time, we've employed a bit more muscle than you might think."

"Good." replied Brutus. "Because we have done the same. I'd like to know, though. What is the use of sabotaging those duelist's Duel Runners?"

"Well, some people might need a bit more motivation to join us than others do. That's enough of this matter, though. I have other business to attend to." said Payne, walking out of the room.

Once he was gone, Brutus took out a cell phone and called someone. "Hello? Yeah. Apparently, our fears may be true... They are receiving some extra help, and based on what he said, I don't think its something we should take lightly." The voice from the phone issued an order, and after he agreed, he hung up the phone and disappeared.

**End of chapter 4.

* * *

**

_Two mysterious people have appeared, and from the looks of it, they seem to be preparing for some sort of battle. What's worse, it seems that Team Inferno has been caught in the middle of it. Stay alert for: Enter the WRGP!_

* * *

A/N: Made a small change in this chapter. Of course, its all just in the card album, fixing some of the card descriptions. Nothing else of importance has been added to this chapter.

_

* * *

_

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Alchimie-Flaming Dragon - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Fire

Level: 6

ATK: 2200

DEF: 1350

Effect: This monster cannot be special summoned or set. This monster can only be normal summoned from your hand by removing from play from your field "Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third" and "Darkfire Dragon". When this monster is summoned, special summon one level four or lower Fire attribute monster from your graveyard.

* * *

Educated Student Lv.3 - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 3

ATK: 1500

DEF: 100

Effect: During you or your opponent's battle phase, send this card to the graveyard to summon from your hand or deck Educated Student Lv.5.

* * *

Educated Student Lv.5 - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 5

ATK: 2200

DEF: 1500

Effect: During your turn, remove this card from play to summon, from your hand or deck, 'Educated Student Lv.7'.

* * *

Educated Student Lv.7 - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 7

ATK: 2800

DEF: 2000

Effect: This card can only be special summoned by the effect of 'Educated Student Lv.5'. This card cannot attack during the turn it was special summoned through 'Educated Student Lv.5's effect. This card can attack once for each monster on your field. If you do this, you can't activate any spell or trap cards on your turn, or attack directly. Remove this card from play to special summon, from your deck or hand, to your side of the field 'Educated Master'.

* * *

Educated Spellcaster - Monster Card

Type: Spellcaster/Tuner

Attribute: Light

Level: 3

ATK: 1000

DEF: 100

Effect: When this card is summoned, you can special summon one level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from your graveyard, though its effect is negated and it is removed from play at the end of the turn it was special summoned.

* * *

Educated Draw - Spell Card

Type: Normal

Effect: Pick up the top six cards on your deck. Select three of them and add them to your hand. Remove the other three from play.

* * *

Board of Education - Spell Card

Type: Normal

Effect: Special summon from your deck one level four or lower 'Educated' monster.

* * *

Advanced Spellbook - Spell Card

Type: Equip

Effect: The monster equipped with this card increases its attack points by 700.

* * *

Protective Whistle - Trap Card

Type: Normal

Effect: When a monster with 'Educated' in its card name is destroyed, special summon one level four or lower 'Educated' from your deck. That monster cannot be destroyed by battle, and is removed from play during your second standby phase after this card's activation.

* * *

Educated Knight - Monster Card

Type: Warrior/Synchro

Attribute: Light

Level: 6

ATK: 2500

DEF: 1900

Effect:

"1 'Educated' tuner + 1 or more non-tuner monsters"

This card cannot be destroyed by battle. Once per turn, during your battle phase, you can discard one monster from your hand to the graveyard to increase this card's attack points by half the attack points of the discarded monster.

* * *

Mystic Falcon - Monster Card

Type: Winged Beast

Attribute: Wind

Level: 8

ATK: 2900

DEF: 2200

Effect: You can tribute this monster to special summon one Ritual Monster from your deck, ignoring the summoning condition. That monster is destroyed at the end phase of the turn he was special summoned.


	5. Chapter 5: Enter the WRGP

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva

* * *

_

**Chapter 5: Enter the WRGP!**

The last few days before the start of the WRGP went by pretty quickly. Kai and his team had been working hard to ensure that they could be ready for this, since they knew that teamwork would be the main objective of this competition. Since Kai had been getting little work lately, Yeager seemed to be busy with something else, he decided to put all of his focus and concentration into practicing for their match in the WRGP.

On the other hand, their opponents, Team Inferno, was hard at work too. Mostly, it was Akira that was working hard. He learned that the Duel Runners had been sabotaged, so he had been working night and day to fix them, which wasn't easy to do. Whoever did that to their Duel Runners must have been quite the mechanic, thought Akira.

Not just that, but they had also been planning their strategy for the competition, which included Blake's participation as well.

Still, the day of the WRGP was here, and they had all gotten ready for it as best they could...

* * *

It was eleven am, and most of the competitors were sitting in the lounge, watching Team 5D's duel. Truthfully, they were all just waiting until it was time for them to compete, but they all knew that seeing how their competition dueled was good. After all, not doing so would be to duel unprepared, and they were all smart enough to know not to do that.

_"...And the winner is... Team 5D's!" _said the announcer. The crowd cheered at the top of their lungs, amazed by the duel they had seen.

Minutes later, they went up to the lounge to rest up a bit before heading out.

There, the other competitors congratulated them on their duel, saying it was great, and how they hoped to face them in the finals.

Yusei looked around and spotted Team Inferno. In the couch near the center of the room was Casey, Blake, and Zeke. He quickly recognized Zeke and approached him. "Hey, good luck in your duel."

Zeke looked up at him. "Oh? Yeah, thanks. Nice duel." Zeke replied with a smile on his face.

Yusei looked at him strangely. _'I can't believe they don't remember it all... What he and his friends did during our fight against the Dark Signers was amazing... If it wasn't for them, we might not have found the strength to fight until the end...' _he thought.

Zeke, and Akira had met up with Yusei and the rest of his friends about eight months ago. It was during a duel that they met, having almost crashed into each other. It was during that day that Yusei learned that they ended up fine after what happened with the Dark Signers, but they had no actual memory about what had happened. True, they hung out a few more times after that, but they weren't exactly close friends.

"Also," started Yusei. "sorry about your friend. Its been about a year now, right?"

Zeke nodded. "Yeah... Things changed, but we'll keep fighting."

Yusei smiled. "Good. Hope you manage to get him out. Wish I could do something to help, though."

"Thanks, but this is something we have to deal with."

"Alright. Anyways, I have to go, but I'll catch you guys later, alright?" he said, waving bye to them as he left the room.

During the whole conversation, Blake just sat there, his mouth wide open, frozen in his seat. A short moment after Yusei left, he stood up and faced Zeke. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that you knew Yusei, and Jack, and all of them!"

"Uh, yeah. We met them some months ago. We've only hung out a few times, though." he replied.

"What?" said Blake, grabbing Zeke by the collar of his shirt and shaking him. "How could you not tell me? I've always wanted to meet them!"

Zeke just stood there speechless as Blake proceeded to go cry in a corner, while Casey was deep in thought about what Yusei had said. "Okay... Well, maybe I could-"

_"Up next, we have Team Inferno, against Team Enigmatic!" _said the announcer.

Blake quickly stopped being over-dramatic and ran behind Casey and Zeke as they hurried to the pit.

As they hurried, they had yet to notice that Team Enigmatic had been watching them, with the exception of Kai, who left a few minutes before the announcer called them to the track. They left the room a few moments after them, not even caring about being late or not.

As they stepped onto the track, the cheers of the crowd could shake the earth. Most of the cheers were aimed at Team Inferno.

_"Welcome all, to the second match of the WRGP! Here, we have two great teams!" _began the announcer.

_"First up, we have Team Inferno!" _The crowd burst into cheers when he said this. _"It is a very fine team, made up of great duelists! We have Blake Anderson, a duelist whose name is well-known in the underground racing circuit. After him, we have Zeke Naganori, a former pro duelist who once ranked third in the top five! And lastly, we have Casey Miller, a promising duelist that has come to show us her potential!"_ Their images flashed on the large, holographic screen in the middle of the track, then it switched to the images of Team Enigmatic.

_"They will be going up against Team Enigmatic! Due to their last minute entry, we were unable to gather information on them, but it is made up of Tueur, Crusher, and Kaiser-" _A voice was speaking to him through the earphone he had attached. _"Which, according to my sources, will be a little late. Hopefully, he'll get here soon, or else his team members will be at a disadvantage, having to duel when they are outnumbered! _

_"Now that the teams have been introduced, let's start this match!"_

The two teams watched the holographic screen to see who their opponent would be.

**Blake Anderson- VS. -Crusher**

**Zeke Naganori- VS. -Tueur**

**Casey Miller- VS. -Kaiser**

They all headed to their respective pit, with Akira appearing a few seconds later. "Sorry I'm late guys." he said, panting. "Your mechanic is here now."

Casey looked at him for a moment. "Took you a while. Still hung up on Phantom?"

"Maybe. Don't you have a Turbo Duel to participate in?" he retorted.

"Yeah. Why aren't you participating, anyways?" she asked him as Blake walked over to his Duel Runner.

"Because my Turbo Deck isn't ready yet, so until then, I need you to take my place."

"If you say so..."

With a smirk, Blake put on his helmet and went to the starting line, where Crusher was already waiting for him. "Ready to get your ass kicked?"

Crusher chuckled. "Watch your words, little man. If you were serious, then I'd have to crush you like the bug you are..."

_"Ready? Set? GO!" _said the announcer, both duelists speeding off.

Crusher was the first one to reach the corner, so he started the duel. They both drew five cards as Speed World 2 activated.

(4000-4000) [0-0]

Crusher drew a card and smiled. "I'll set one card, then activate the spell card, Burden of the Mighty! Thanks to this spell, all of your monsters will lose 100 attack points per level. Up next, I'll set another card on the field and summon Thunder King Rai-Oh (1900/800) in attack mode!"

A humanoid, yet robotic, monster dressed in blue armor and emitting sparks of lightning appeared on the field.

"Turn end."

(4000-4000) [1-1]

_"The duel has started off with a bang! Crusher has been able to summon a strong monster in just the first turn, and he has also weakened any monster that Blake might summon to destroy it!" _said the announcer.

Blake drew a card and looked at his hand. He held Cannon Wheel, Drillago, DUCKER Mobile Cannon, Mystical Space Typhoon, UFO Turtle, and Enchanted Javelin.

"I'll set two cards face-down, and then set a monster. Your move." There wasn't much he could do this turn, so he decided that using the effect of UFO Turtle would be wise. That, and having Enchanted Javelin and Mystical Space Typhoon on the field might be good for any surprises.

(4000-4000) [2-2]

"Sad. I thought you would do better than this." said Crusher. "I summon Gene-Warped Warwolf (2000/100) in attack mode!" A beast-warrior that looked like a ferocious white wolf with four arms appeared next to Thunder King Rai-Oh.

"Thunder King, attack his monster!" Thunder King did as told, shooting lightning bolts from the rings that floated around him. Before it was destroyed, the monster revealed itself to be UFO Turtle.

As it shattered and left the field, another UFO Turtle appeared. "Warwolf, destroy his second turtle!" Warwolf leaped at the turtle and destroyed it with a powerful spinning kick. Then, a third turtle appeared.

"Not bad. I see that I underestimated you. I'll end my turn here."

(4000-4000) [3-3]

Blake drew a card. It was Woodborg Inpachi. _'Good. At least until I get some offense, I can build up my defense. With this, I can hold his monsters back for another turn or two at most.'_ he thought.

"I sacrifice my UFO Turtle to summon Woodborg Inpachi (500/2500) in defense mode!" The flaming turtle disappeared, and a small tank made of a large, burnt tree trunk covered with metal plating took its place. "Also, Burden of the Mighty may reduce its attack points to zero, but since it's in defense mode, I don't have to worry."

Inpachi glowed as it lost its attack points. "You are strong, but your beatdown deck isn't strong enough to beat me. Turn end."

(4000-4000) [4-4]

"That's nice and all, but you have no idea what this deck can do!" said Crusher laughing.

"I'll summon Chainsaw Insect (2400/0) and end my turn."

(4000-4000) [5-5]

Blake looked at the newly summoned monster, shocked. _'What... the... hell? A level four monster with 2400 attack points? This guy isn't kidding around here! If I don't draw something good soon, it'll be the end of me!'_ he thought.

He looked at the card he had drawn. It was Speed Spell-Summon Speeder.

"I'll set a monster." DUCKER Mobile Cannon was placed on the field, the back of a card being the object that concealed it from sight.

"I activate the speed spell, Summon Speeder, allowing me to special summon Drillago (1600/1100) in attack mode!" The large robot made up mostly of drills appeared on the field, glowing as its attack points decreased to 1200 due to Burden of the Mighty's effect.

"What good is that piece of junk going to do?" said Crusher.

"It'll allow me to attack you directly when you have monsters with more than 1600 attack points on your side of the field! Drillago, attack him directly!" Drillago charged past all of Crusher's monsters and hit him directly.

"Damn it!" said Crusher. "You'll pay for that you little punk."

"I'll end my turn." said Blake.

(4000-2800) [6-6]

_"Oh, what a comeback! Blake has managed to go right past Crusher's field of powerful monsters and hit him directly! Obviously, this is a great matchup!"_ said the announcer.

Casey, Akira, and Zeke looked at the field as Crusher drew a card. "Blake is in trouble. I don't know what's inside Crusher's deck, but based on that field, I doubt its anything good." said Zeke.

"I agree." replied Akira. "I know that Blake is a good duelist, but no matter what he tries, that Burden of the Mighty will just weaken whatever he summons, and if he doesn't do something quick, Crusher will get past that defense of his and go straight after his life points."

Casey only looked on at the duel, not saying anything. _'Come one, Blake. You can do this!'_

"I'll sacrifice my Warwolf and Chainsaw Insect..." The two monsters became pixels that merged together and became a large monster. It was a horrible creature, part fiend, part beast. It looked like a mix between Summoned Skull and a large wolf, such as Lycanthrope.

"...Maju Garzett (?/0) in attack mode!"

"Why doesn't it have determined attack points?" asked Blake.

"Because its attack points are the combined attack points of the monsters that were used to summon it!" Maju Garzett roared as its attack points rose to 4400.

_'For-...Forty-four... Hundred attack points? That thing is too strong!_'

"Thunder King, attack Drillago!" Thunder King shot a volley of lightning bolts that caused Drillago to explode as they hit him.

"Maju Garzett, attack his set monster!" The hideous creature spit out a corrosive acid that caused the monster to melt.

"I activate the effect of my DUCKER Mobile Cannon, allowing me to take a level four monster from my graveyard and add it to my hand." Drillago was ejected from the graveyard slot and added to his hand.

"Alright. I'll end my turn."

(4000-2800) [7-7]

Blake drew a card, and looked behind him to see Crusher activate another card.

"I activate the trap card, Battle Mania! During your standby phase, I can activate this card. Now, all the monsters that you control that are face-up are switched to attack mode, and they _must_ battle during this turn!" Crusher laughed as Woodborg Inpachi, a monster that had zero attack points, had switched into attack mode.

"Its not my battle phase yet, so I'll set a card, and then set a monster on the field." Blake lowered his head as he issued the command. "Woodborg Inpachi, attack Thunder King!"

Crusher smiled as one of his traps lifted. "I activate the trap, A Hero Emerges! Now, you get to choose one card from my hand, and if its a monster, I get to summon it!"

Blake looked at his opponent. "The one on the left..."

"Good choice! I special summon Patrician of Darkness (2000/1400) in attack mode!"

"The number of monsters on your field have changed, but I'll continue with my attack on Thunder King!" said Blake.

"Sorry, but due to Patrician of Darkness' effect, I can switch your attack to my Maju Garzett!"

As Crusher said this, the whole crowd gasped. They were amazed by such a strategy. Zeke, however, knew exactly what this meant, and he hurried to his Duel Runner.

Maju Garzett grabbed the robotic monster and threw it at Blake, which caused it to explode upon impact.

Blake groaned as he rode out from the smoke, his Life Points at zero. "Damn... it..." He went into the pit, tagging out with Zeke. As the cards were being changed to Zeke's Duel Runner, Blake tugged on his arm.

"Those guys... They aren't kidding around. Be careful..." said Blake. Zeke nodded as he drove into the track, the next duel about to begin.

_"Oh, that was horrible! Crusher just 'crushed' Blake Anderson! Obviously, Team Enigmatic is better than we thought. Zeke better give it his all if he wants to defeat Crusher!"_

Crusher laughed as Zeke entered the track. "Your friend was all bark and no bite. Better hope you can do better than that loser."

Zeke looked at him, dead serious. "You will regret this..."

(4000-2800) [8-8]

Zeke looked at the cards that Blake had set, then he drew a card and looked at his hand. He held Speed Spell-Summon Speeder, Wing Effigy, Simorgh- Bird of Ancestry, Axe of Despair, Speed Spell-Overboost, and Torrential Tribute.

_'I'll end up using my entire hand this turn, but if it gets rid of that monster of his, then it might be worth it. Then again... if I can reduce his Life Points, then that would be one problem solved. Oh well, let's see if this little tactic works...' _he thought.

"I'll activate the speed spell, Summon Speeder, allowing me to special summon Wind Effigy (1800/200) from my hand!"

A small tornado concealing a type of bird appeared on the field, spinning slower than usual as Burden of the Mighty decreased its attack points to 1400.

"Next, I'll sacrifice him to summon Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry (2900/2000)!" The small tornado grew in size. Then, it stopped to reveal a large, golden bird with four wings that flew over Zeke.

"But Burden of the Mighty will decrease its attack points and weaken it!" said Crusher.

"Nope. Since I tribute summoned it by sacrificing two wind monsters, he gets to return two of your cards back to its owner's hand!"

"But you only used one monster!"

"Wind Effigy counts as two monsters when its used for a tribute summon. Now, I get to return Burden of the Mighty, and Maju Garzett to its actual owner's hand!"

Maju Garzett let out a roar and disappeared from the field.

"Damn it!" cursed Crusher.

"Next, I equip my Simorgh with the equip spell, Axe of Despair!" Simorgh screeched as it grabbed a large axe with one of its legs, its attack points rising to 3900. "Simorgh, attack Thunder King!"

The large bird raised up the axe and cut through Thunder King with ease, causing him to explode and decreasing Crusher's Life Points.

"I'll set two cards. Turn end."

(4000-800) [9-9]

Crusher laughed as he started his turn. "Not bad. I can see that you are still as good a duelist as you were all those years ago. Still, its my move now, and I won't go down easily! First, I'll activate my very own Summon Speeder, to special summon another Chainsaw Insect (2400/0)!" The small bug with two chainsaw blades for jaws appeared on the field.

"To copy you, I'll be summoning a strong monster the same way. I'll sacrifice my Insect..."

A large monster, similar to Maju Garzett, appeared on the field. This one, however, was bigger, and seemed to be a more evolved version of Maju Garzett.

"Great Maju Garzett (0/0) in attack mode!"

Zeke would have said something, but after experiencing Maju Garzett's power, he knew better than to take this creature lightly, despite its low attack points.

"When this monster is summoned, its attack points are twice that of the monster that was used to summon it!" Zeke looked on in shock as the monster's attack points rose to 4800.

_'This one is even stronger than the first!' _

"Next, I'll activate Burden of the Mighty!" Simorgh groaned as its attack points decreased to 3100.

"Attack!" Great Maju Garzett grabbed the large bird's neck and squeezed it until it shattered and turned to pixels.

"Your turn."

(2300-800) [10-10]

Zeke drew a card and smiled when he looked at it. "You lose."

Crusher looked at him, confused. "What do you mean? The way I see it, I have the advantage over here!"

"No, you don't. You've reached Speed World's safety limit. First, I activate Speed World's effect. By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy one monster on your field." Zeke began to slow down and fell far behind Crusher as Great Maju Garzett exploded.

"I'm still in the game, punk!"

"Not really. I activate one of my set cards, the speed spell, Overboost! Thanks to this, I get four speed counters, and at the end my turn, they'll become one. Doesn't matter, though. I use those four counters to activate another of Speed World's effects, dealing you 800 points of damage for each speed spell in my hand!" He turned the card he had just drawn, which was Speed Spell-Shallow Grave.

Crusher began to glow as his Life Points went down to zero.

He went into the pit and quickly gave Tueur the cards he had on the field. "Be careful. This guy lives up to his reputation."

Tueur nodded. "Alright, I will. I just hope Kai makes it here before anything goes wrong..."

He mounted his Duel Runner and entered the track. "Heard you are a good opponent, Zeke. Let's hope that you can do better than what I saw."

Tueur and Zeke both sped up, trying to reach the corner first. It was close, but Tueur managed to get there first and start.

"Get ready, Zeke, 'cause I'm not holding back!"

* * *

From the top of the building, looking down at the track, was Payne. He chuckled as he looked at the duelists. "Zeke... If only you and your friends knew what was about to come crashing down upon you. It is almost time for the war to begin, and I intend to make sure that neither you or your friends survive it..."

**End of Chapter 5.

* * *

**

_The WRGP has started off with a bang, with neither team allowing the other to gain an edge. Still, Kaiser is no where to be found, and its up to Tueur to eliminate the two remaining members of Team Inferno, or risk losing this match! Don't miss: Last Minute Rescue!

* * *

_

A/N: This chapter was shorter. Still, it was good. Seems Team Enigmatic is going to end up as Team Inferno's biggest rival.


	6. Chapter 6: Last Minute Rescue

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).

* * *

**

**Chapter 6: Last Minute Rescue**

(2300-4000) [1-10]

Tueur had begun the duel, and he wasn't going to let his teammate's defeat go to waste.

"I'll start!" he said with a laugh. "I'll start by setting two cards on the field, and now I summon Infernity Necromancer (0/2000) in defense mode!" A skeleton fiend wearing a purple robe appeared on the field, shielding itself with its arms.

"Your move."

(2300-4000) [2-11]

Zeke drew a card and looked at the monster. _'Infernity? I've never heard of those monsters... I can see that Team Enigmatic is a lot stronger than we thought. I don't know what the monster does, but I'm not waiting around to find out!'_ he thought.

At the moment, he only held Speed Spell-Shallow Grave, and Birdface.

"Alright-!" Just as he spoke, one of Tueur's traps revealed itself, and Tueur interrupted him.

"I activate the trap card, Full Salvo! Thanks to this, I can discard my entire hand, and you take 200 points of damage per card!"

A volley of missiles shot out from the card and hit Zeke, each one exploding on impact.

_'Why would he do that? Had he waited until his next turn, he would have done more damage...'_

"I summon Birdface (1600/1600) in defense mode!" A tall bird creature appeared on the field, kneeling down and covering itself with its wings.

"Your move."

(1700-4000) [3-12]

"I'll activate the continous spell, Wave-Motion Inferno! Thanks to this, as long as I have no cards in my hand, all 'Infernity' monsters that I contol will gain an extra 400 attack and defense points!" Infernity Necromancer glowed with a dark aura, its defense points now becoming 2400, with its attak points becoming 400.

"Next, I'm activating the effect of my Infernity Necromancer. As long as I have no cards in my hand, then once per turn, I can special summon one 'Infernity' monster from my graveyard! I choose my Infernity Beast (1600/1200)!"

A dark creature, similar to a panther, appeared on the field, roaring as its attack points rose to 2000.

"Infernity Beast, destroy Birdface!" The beast leaped at the large bird and bit it, causing to shatter into pieces.

"Due to the effect of Birdface, I get to add a Harpie Lady to my hand when he's destroyed." said Zeke as he added a card to his hand.

"I'll end my turn with that."

(1700-4000) [4-12]

Zeke looked at the three cards in his hand. Speed Spell-Shallow Grave, Harpie Lady 3, and Option Hunter.

_'Damn...' _

"I'll summon Harpie Lady 3 in defense mode!" The harpie appeared on the field, covering her face with her wings.

"Next, I'll set a card and end my turn." Option Hunter appeared set on the field behind Harpie Lady.

(1700-4000) [5-12]

Tueur drew a card. "I'll set a card, and now I'll activate my Necromancer's effect, allowing me to special summon another Infernity Beast (1600/1200) from my graveyard!"

Another Infernity Beast appeared on the field, looking even more dangerous than ever when it stands next to another one of itself, its attack points also rising to 2000 points.

"I think you know what's next..." said Tueur.

The two beasts attacked, one tearing Harpie Lady to shreds, the other attacking Zeke directly.

When it returned to its own field, however, Tueur noticed that Zeke still had Life Points. "What's the deal? Your Life Points were supposed to have been gone with that attack!"

"I activated my Option Hunter trap card, allowing me to regain Life Points equal to the original attack points of the monster that you had destroyed. Also, the beast that destroyed my Harpie Lady cannot attack for the next couple of turns." Zeke explained.

Tueur growled. "Turn end."

(1000-4000) [6-12]

* * *

From the lounge, Team 5D's watched the duel.

"So, these are the people you guys were talking about?" asked Rua.

"Yeah." replied Yusei. "Its them. These guys were the ones who tried to help us out against the Dark Signers."

"Noble, but as they soon saw, it was done in vain." added Akiza.

"Rua, don't you remember? Those guys that we had met in Satellite, the ones who had somehow avoided the effects of the fog that made everyone disppear?" said his sister, Ruka.

"Now that you mention it, they do seem kind of familiar..." said Rua.

"All except the girl, that is." said Jack, noting Matsu's absense.

"Oh yeah..." said Ruka. "I don't remember the girl, or that guy that dueled first."

"They weren't there." explained Jack. "I don't know who that Blake guy is, but the girl, I know her."

Yusei looked at him. "You know her? I thought the first time we met her was a few months back."

"True, that was the first time I met her, but I knew her before that. Remember when Zeke, Akira, and Matsu ran off to fight the Dark Signers? During his duel against Carly, I met up with Matsu. He said that there was this girl that he cared about, one that been sent to the Facility because of something that he did. Though I can't be completely sure, I think this is the girl he was talking about."

"It is, actually." said Yusei. "If you paid closer attention to what they had said when we first met up with them a few months ago, you'd know that Matsu got himself thrown into the Facility, and got her out instead."

"Really?" asked Akiza. She was paying close attention, drawn in by the relationship that Matsu and Casey seemed to have. _'Yusei... Why can't we have something like that?'_ she thought.

"Yeah. Obviously, they have become good duelists, but something about this worries me." replied Yusei.

"What?" asked Rua.

"Well, the 'Infernity' cards are pretty rare, and the only time I've ever seen them was when Kiryu used them. I'm getting a strange feeling that Tueur having these cards is not all that good."

"Maybe we should check them out after the duel is over." suggested Jack.

"Maybe..."

* * *

(1000-4000) [6-12]

Zeke drew his next card and looked at the field. "I activate the speed spell, Angel Baton! Allowing me to draw two cards, as long as I discard one of them." He made two draws, looking at them for a moment before discarding one.

"I'll remove from play the Owl of Luck that's in my Graveyard to summon Garuda the Wind Spirit (1600/1200) in attack mode!" The monster appeared with a screech.

"Next, I'll activate the speed spell, The Shallow Grave, which allows us to take a monster from our graveyards and set it on the field!" They each did as he said, setting a monster on their field.

"That's all I can do in this turn."

(1000-4000) [7-12]

"What a waste of a turn it was." said Tueur, drawing a card. He looked at it for a moment. _'Good draw, but I can't afford to use it yet. I think I'll save it for later.'_ he thought.

"I'll have my Infernity Beast destroy that wind spirit of yours." The creature jumped on Garuda, biting hard on its arm until it became pixels.

"Turn end."

(600-4000) [8-12]

Zeke looked at the card he just drew. "I'll set a card, and summon Mystic Falcon* (2900/2200) in attack mode!" The concealed monster he had set on his field on the previous turn had turned out to be his ace monster. It was a large falcon that radiated a shiny gold glow.

"Mystic Falcon, destroy his Necromancer!"

The falcon screeched and fired a golden yellow beam of light from its mouth, which destroyed the necromancer.

"Your turn."

(600-4000) [9-12]

"I have to admit, that was a pretty good move there, but I'm afraid it'll cost you." said Tueur, smirking as he looked at his hand.

"I'll switch my monsters to defense mode, and end my turn there."

(600-4000) [10-12]

Zeke drew a card. "Seems like you're running out moves without that Necromancer."

"I'll set a monster, and I'll have my falcon destroy one of your beasts!"

The falcon fired a beam of light from its beak, but it was blocked by an invisible barrier.

"I activate my continuous trap, Depth Amulet! Whenever you attack, I can discard a card from my hand to negate the attack!" said Tueur. "Finished with your turn now?"

"Yeah."

(600-4000) [11-12]

"I'll start mine by setting a card, then I'll summon Infernity Beetle (1200/0) in defense mode!" The small tuner bettle appeared, its size hardly menacing compared to Tueur's other monsters, even though Wave-Motion Inferno increased its attack points to 1600.

"Now, I'll have one of my Infernity Beasts switch to attack mode and destroy that set monster of yours!"

The dark beast jumped at the set monster, smoke covered the spot for a moment, then a light blue bird flew out and hit Tueur, decreasing his Life Points by a thousand points. "What was that?" he asked, surprised.

"That was my Stealth Bird, and since you destroyed it while it was set, it gets flipped-up and you take 1000 points of damage!" explained Zeke.

"Damn it... Well, I'll end my turn then."

(600-3000) [12-12]

Zeke smiled when he loked at the card he just drew.

"I'll summon Harpie Queen (1900/1200) in attack mode!" A more elegant and regal harpie appeared, smirking as she saw the monsters on Tueur's field. Almost as if she knew what Zeke was planning.

"Mystic Falcon, destroy his Infernity Beast!" The falcon fired yet another beam of light from its beak, and once again, it was blocked.

"Don't you get it? As long as I can discard cards from my hand, you can't destroy any of my monsters!" bragged Tueur.

"True, but you don't pay enough attention to your hand!" replied Zeke.

Realizing what he meant, Tueur looked at his hand. He had wasted all of the cards in his hand, which meant that Zeke could easily destroy one of his monsters. _'Damn it...'_

"Now, Harpie Queen, destroy the other Infernity Beast!" The harpie jumped high into the air landed on the beast's back, crushing it with her talons until it became pixels.

"Your turn."

(600-3000) [12-12]

Tueur drew with a snarl, annoyed by the fact that Zeke got around his trap. "I'll summon Infernity Randomizer (900/0) in defense mode!" A strange looking machine with a fiendish alien head appeared on the field, defending itself by putting its arms in front of itself.

"Here's how this monster works. While I have no cards in my hand, I can draw one card from the top of my deck. If its a monster, you take damage equal to its level times 200 points. If its a spell or trap, I take 500 points of damage."

He drew a card and looked at it, clenching his teeth as Infernity Randomizer turned towards him and shocked him.

"Seems you got a bad draw." joked Zeke.

"Oh, shut it! Just go ahead with your turn!"

(600-2500) [12-12]

Zeke chuckled as he drew a card. "Falcon, destroy his Randomizer!" Depth Amulet's effect activated again, blocking the attack.

"Harpie Queen, destroy his Infernity Beetle." The harpie jumped up again, landing on Infernity Beetle and crushing it under her talons.

"Your move."

(600-2500) [12-12]

Tueur smiled as he drew his next card. "I'll activate the effect of the Infernity Archfiend (1800/1200) in my hand. If I draw it, and I have no other cards in my hand, I can special summon it to my field."

The archfiend, which resembled a version of Infernity Necromancer that was made for fighting instead of defending, appeared on the field, its attack points rising to 2200.

"Also, thanks to its effect, I can add an 'Infernity' monster from my deck to my hand, and since I have yet to make a normal summon, I can summon it too."

Another Infernity Beetle appeared on the field.

"Next, I'll reveal the monster I set with your speed spell, which was Infernity Dwarf (800/500)!"

A small dwarf with a flaming axe appeared on the spot where the set monster was. "Now, I'll tune Infernity Beetle with Infernity Dwarf and Infernity Beast!"

Infernity Beetle turned into two green rings that floated around Infernity Dwarf and Infernity Beast, who became six glowing stars.

_"When all hope is lost, take everything with you! Plunge the very world that rejected you into the depths of Hell! Synchro Summon! Appear, Infernity Doom Dragon!"_

A large dragon, with four eyes, a crown made of bones around its head, and three arms appeared on the field, all eyes fixated on Mystic Falcon* as its attack points rose from 3000 to 3400 points, and its defense points rose from 2400 to 2800 points.

"My Infernity Doom Dragon (3400/2800) has a very nasty effect. At the cost of his attack this turn, I can destroy one monster on your field, and inflict damage to your Life Points equal to half that monster's attack points!"

Mystic Falcon exploded as Doom Dragon's eyes began to glow with a red light. It opened its mouth and shot a blast of red energy at Zeke.

"I activate the counter trap, Barrel Behind the Door! This trap allows me to redirect that damage back at you!"

The trap absorbed the blast and shot it back at Tueur, exploding on contact.

Tueur sped out of the smoke, angry, yet holding it all back.

"I'll end my turn!"

(600-1550) [12-12]

Zeke drew another card, knowing full well that with the defeat of his strongest monster, he wouldn't be able to continue to duel for long. but, maybe he wouldn't have to.

"I'll set a card, and activate the effect of Speed World 2! At the cost of four speed counters, I can hit you with 800 points of damage for each Speed Spell that I have in my hand!" He revealed the card he held in his hand, which was Speed Spell - Silver Contrails.

As the damage was about to take effect, Zeke was surprised to see a man wearing clothes from the Old West with a revolver pointed right at his face, standing on his Duel Runner.

"I'll activate the effect of the Infernity Death Gunman in my graveyard. By removing him from play when I'm going to take effect damage, I can give you a choice." said Tueur.

"What kind of choice?" asked Zeke.

"Easy. I get to draw one card. If its a monster, you take the damage instead. If its a spell or trap card, the damage I take is doubled. However, you can choose to negate this effect, but if you do, then I will take no damage. So, what'll it be?"

Zeke's team watched on in amazement from the pit. "Damn... I thought the first guy was trouble, but it seems that this one is even worse!" said Blake.

"I know what you mean." replied Akira. "From the looks of it, Zeke has a small chance of winning this. If he takes the chance and Tueur draws a spell or trap, the damage would be doubled, which is just enough damage to defeat Tueur, but if he takes the chance and Tueur draws a monster, he'll take the damage instead and lose the duel."

"How is that a small chance? The way I see it, he has a two in one chance at winning!"

"True, but that's assuming that an Infernity deck is equally balanced in the number of monster/spell/trap cards that it contains. If Tueur's deck has more monsters than spell and traps, then Zeke might be risking too much if he takes the chance."

"Good point..." replied Blake.

"Yeah. Still, just because its risky, doesn't mean that he shouldn't take the chance. After all if he wins, that means that we only have one more person to duel before we win, and he's yet to arrive." said Casey.

"You think so, huh?" asked Akira."What you don't seem to get is this: what if Kaiser shows up in time? As you've seen, their team strategy helps each other out, sure, but they are organized from weakest to strongest. Crusher caused us a lot of trouble, and I'm pretty sure he's the weakest one of their team. If Kaiser is last, that probably means that he's the strongest one. If he manages to get here, and we beat Tueur, that means we'll have to go up against him, and with what we have left to fight him with, I don't think we can beat him..."

Casey sighed. "You're right... I guess all we can do is see if Zeke will go ahead and take the chance. Either way, this duel is almost over, which means its going to be my turn soon."

Zeke took a deep breath. He didn't know what to do. For the first time in years, he was hesitating. He had to make a choice, and that choice would mean either his victory, or his defeat.

"So, what'll it be, Zeke?"

Zeke gulped, and made his decision. "I'll take the chance!"

As he said this, Akira motioned to Casey to get ready, just in case.

"Nice choice. Let's see if you picked the right one." said Tueur. He drew a card and looked at it, then back at Zeke. There was a moment of silence before he spoke. "Well, well, well... It seems that the card I drew, was... A monster card!"

Zeke's eyes widened when he heard this. The next sound that was heard was the sound of a gun firing, and then Zeke screaming.

Zeke had lost, and there was nothing more he could do. All that was left was for Casey to try and beat Tueur with what he and Blake left her. He drove into the pit and handed Casey the cards, feeling down.

"You did good, Zeke. I really appreciate it. Still, now its my turn, and I promise that I won't let you down." she told him, smiling.

Zeke looked at her for a moment, and then smiled back. "Alright. Good luck."

Casey put on her helmet and rode onto the track, just a couple of seconds before Tueur, so she was able to take this chance to start her turn. "Get ready, Tueur. I'll defeat you and win this!"

Tueur laughed. "I'd like to see that!"

(4000-1550) [8-12]

Casey drew a card and checked her hand. She currently held Marauding Captain, Field-Commander Rahz, Boost Warrior, Torapart, Fighting Spirit, and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

"I'm going to destroy that dragon!" she stated.

"Really? And how do you intend to pull that off?" Tueur replied.

"Just watch! I summon Marauding Captain (1200/400) in attack mode!" The young warrior appeared on the field, wielding his two swords. "Thanks to his effect, I can special summon another Warrior-Type monster from my hand! So, meet Torapart (600/600)!" A small tuner monster appeared on the field, floating next to Marauding Captain. It looked like a pair of short witches on a stand.

"A tuner? I doubt that you can synchro summon a monster that's strong enough to beat my dragon with those two!" bragged Tueur.

"True, but I'm not done yet. Since I have a tuner monster on the field, I can special summon Boost Warrior (300/200) to the field in defense mode!" A warrior wearing blue metal armor appeared on the field, shielding himself with his arms.

"Now, I tune my Torapart to my Marauding Captain."

Torapart became two green rings that floated around Marauding Captain, who became three glowing stars.

_"From the trash that the world rejected, a new hope shall arise! Burst through the hatred! Synchro Summon! Appear, Junk Warrior!"_

With a grunt, the monster that was made famous by his use in Yusei's deck appeared, striking a pose as he looked at Infernity Doom Dragon. (2300/1300)

"Thanks to its effect, it gains attack points equal to the total attack of all level two or lower monsters on my field!" Junk Warrior made a fighting pose as its attack points rose by 300 points, then it glowed as another 300 points were added to its attack score. (2900/1300)

"Hold on! You only have one monster that fits the bill! Why did its attack points get so high?" asked Tueur.

"Boost Warrior has an effect of its own, and it increases the attack points of one Warrior-Type monster on my field by 300 points! What were you saying about me not being able to summon a monster that was strong enough?"

"It doesn't matter! Its still 500 points away from being a match for my dragon!"

"Then let's fix that! I'll equip Junk warrior with the equip spell, Fighting Spirit! This grants him 300 extra attack points for each monster on your side of the field!" Tueur looked in shock as Junk Warrior's attack points rose to 3800.

"Junk Warrior, destroy his dragon!" Junk Warrior jumped up into the area and landed before Infernity Doom Dragon, clenching his fist as it was about to attack.

"I activate-!" began Tueur, his trap card lifting up halfway before it stopped and set itself. "What happened?"

"Since I used Torapart as synchro material, the monster that was synchro summoned by it prevents you from using trap cards while it attacks!" Junk Warrior punched Doom Dragon as hard as it could, causing it to roar as it exploded.

"Next, I'll set a card and end my turn." Junk Warrior jumped back to Casey's field, its attack points decreasing to 3500 points.

(4000-1250) [9-12]

Tueur laughed. "Not bad. I cannot tell you how little someone defeats my Infernity Doom Dragon. In fact, I think the last person to have ever pulled that off was Kaiser. Its obvious that you are pretty good, but don't think that will save you for long."

He looked at the card he drew and grinned. "Since my Depth Amulet was sent to the graveyard on Zeke's last turn, I can no longer prevent you from attacking, but I have other methods of defeating you. I'll start by activating my continuous trap card, Phantom Hand! This lets me remove from play all the cards in my hand until my next standby phase!"

He took the card he hand in his hand and put it in his pocket.

"Next, I'll activate the effect of my Infernity Randomizer. I'll draw a card, and if its a monster... Well, you already know the drill." He drew a card and looked at it. There was a pause, then he smirked. He turned the card around, revealing it to be Infernity Destroyer, a level six monster.

Infernity Randomizer turned towards Casey and sent a bolt of lightning that shocked her, reducing her Life Points by 1200 points.

"Heh. Not so bad if I do say so myself. Still, I'm not done yet. I'm sacrificing my Archfiend to summon Infernity Destroyer (2300/1000) in attack mode!" Another Infernity monster appeared. This one looked like a giant, though not as large. It had a peculiar look, though it easily resembled a demon of some sort. Wave-Motion Inferno took effect, increasing its attack points to 2700, and its defense points to 1400.

"I know what you are thinking, there's no way that he can beat your Junk Warrior, but he's not here for that. Infernity Destroyer, attack Boost Warrior!" Infernity Destroyer threw out a punch, but it was stopped by a scarecrow made out of spare parts.

"My Scrap-Iron Scarecrow trap card can prevent one of your attacks once per turn, and I can set it back on the field!"

Tueur smirked as a trap card activated, and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow shattered.

"What happened?" wondered Casey.

"I activated my Infernity Barrier trap card. When I have no cards in my hand, I can negate the activation of a spell, trap, or monster effect and destroy it! Not only that, but it means that my Infernity Destroyer can destroy your Boost Warrior!"

Infernity Destroyer threw another punch, and this time, it connected and destroyed Boost Warrior, causing Junk Warrior's attack points to decrease to 3200.

"You realize, you wasted your turn destroying my Boost Warrior, who was in defense mode. You summoned that monster for nothing, since I'll be able to destroy it on my next turn." Casey said.

"You poor, poor girl. You never look at the big picture. Think about it. Why would I go through the trouble of destroying that pathetic monster of yours?" replied Tueur.

Casey began to think about it, but the answer came to her quickly as Infernity Destroyer threw a punch at her, hitting her hard. "What was that?"

"Whenever Infernity Destroyer destroys a monster while I have no cards in my hand, you take 1600 points of damage, regardless of the monster's battle position!"

Through an earpiece in his helmet, a voice spoke to him giving him an order. "I'll end my turn with that."

(1200-1250) [10-12]

Casey drew another card. This time, it was Educated Spellcaster*. _'I can use him, but not now. The only way for me to win this duel is by beating him in this turn, or else I'll lose any chance of winning.' _she thought.

"I'll summon Field-Commander Rahz (1600/1200) in attack mode!" Another young warrior appeared on the field, though this one only held one sword. "His effect allows me to take a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck and add it to the top of my deck." Her deck automatically shuffled, placing the card she chose on the top.

"Junk Warrior, destroy his Infernity Destroyer!" Junk Warrior charged at Infernity Destroyer, throwing a mighty punch that caused it to explode into pixels.

"I'll activate the effect of the Infernity Avenger in my graveyard! When a monster is destroyed, and I have no cards in my hand, I can special summon him from my graveyard with a level equal to the level of the monster that was destroyed in attack mode!" A small machine resembling a cowboy appeared on the field, smiling evilly. (0/0)

"Big mistake, pal!" stated Casey. "Now, my Field-Commander Rahz can destroy that monster of yours and finish this duel!" Rahz charged at Infernity Avenger, cutting him in half, which caused it to explode and decrease Tueur's Life Points to zero.

Casey smiled as the attack went through, but it soon faded as she realized that the monsters were still there. "What happened?"

_"Oh no! Tueur has been defeated, but even when it seems like its all over, Team Enigmatic surprises us again! I've just received word that the last remaining member of Team Enigmatic has arrived, and just in time, since it is now all up to him to win this duel for his team's sake!" _said the announcer.

As Casey looked at the pit, she saw someone riding on a streamlined Duel Runner. It was similar to the one he used, but it was completely black, with five white streaks running from the front to the back. He was dressed in a black jumpsuit, though he took off the cape this time.

Who was this? None other than Kaiser, and he was the last person she would have to defeat in this duel. Based on all the trouble everyone else from Team Enigmatic gave them, she knew that this wouldn't be easy, but at least she had a good setup, with her strong Junk Warrior ready to take on whatever Kaiser would throw at her.

He quickly rode onto the field and passed her, meaning that he would be able to take his turn first.

"Hm... You managed to get this far. I'm already impressed. Still, you'll have to get through me if you want to beat me, Casey." he said.

"Oh, trust me. I will!" she replied.

**End of Chapter 6.

* * *

**

_Team Enigmatic's second team member has been defeated, and he wasn't easy to defeat. Now, its up to Casey to defeat Team Enigmatic's last member. Will she be able to pull it off, or will Kaiser be too strong a duelist to defeat? Deal of Phantom is next!

* * *

_

A/N: Due to some stuff in real life, it took me a while to finish this chapter, but I managed. Hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review.


	7. Chapter 7: Deal of Phantom

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Hardly Breathe by Hydroponikz

* * *

_**Chapter 7: Deal of Phantom**

Hikazu Minato. That was his name. An arsonist of the worst kind, a pyromaniac without a conscience. He sat in a prison cell, completely alone. His hands were handcuffed behind his back, so any attempt to escape would be a waste of his time. He stared intensely at the iron bars that held him there.

"Damn... How could I have let myself get caught so easily...?" he asked himself.

As he thought about this, he heard a noise. It sounded like a lock being opened. "Huh?" The cell door had opened, granting him freedom if he did this right, but he didn't move. It was too good. Too simple. There had to be more to it.

After waiting for a few minutes, he decided to check it out, curiosity getting the best of him. As he exited the cell, he found himself in a strange place. Fog covered everything, preventing him safe passage.

As he stumbled around the halls, his curiosity only grew. "What happened? Why isn't there anyone here?"

"Why should there be?" said a voice. Hikazu quickly spun around, towards the source of the voice, but didn't see anyone else.

"What do you mean by that? I'm in the Facility!" he replied.

"Really? Does this look anything like the Facility?"

"No. It doesn't, but where else could I be?"

"You are here." said the voice.

"Don't bullshit me! I want to know what this place is, and I want to know now!" demanded Hikazu, his infamous temper finally showing.

"My, my. So impatient. If you must know..." started the voice. "This is a dimension separate from yours. I brought you here for something important..."

"And what could that be?"

"An offer... I could easily get you out of prison, give you power and whatever else you demand. However..."

"However?" asked Hikazu curiously. As with any offers like this one, there was always a catch, and this one was no exception...

During this time, the last part of the duel between Team Enigmatic and Team Inferno had begun, and the tension was thick. The crowd was heavily drawn into the action as they waited to witness the result of such a close duel. They were surprised by all the dueling that they were witnessing today. After all, this was only the start of the WRGP, and already the duelists were dueling their hardest.

(1200-4000) [10-12]

Kaiser started off, everyone except his teammates anxious to see how he dueled.

"I'll start by using the effect of Phantom Hand, which means that the card that Tueur had removed from play now comes back to my hand." He took a quick look at it and placed it on the disk. "Now, I'll activate it! I use the effect of the quickplay spell, Emergency Provisions! By destroying some of the spell and traps on my field, I get a thousand Life Points for each one!" Wave-Motion Inferno, Phantom Hand, and a third set card turned into glowing pixels that surrounded Kaiser, increasing his Life Points to 7000.

"That's not all. Now, I'll sacrifice Infernity Randomizer to summon Dark Red Enchanter (1700/2200) in attack mode!" A spellcaster dressed in crimson robes appeared on the field, with two glowing orbs floating around him.

"When he's normal summoned, he gets two spell counters on himself. Each one of those counters grants him an extra 300 attack points." The spellcaster glowed with a red aura as its attack points rose to 2300.

"He's not enough to defeat my Junk Warrior! And attacking my Field-Commander Rahz won't be enough to stop me from destroying that spellcaster of yours next turn!" Casey stated.

"Heh. You underestimate me. I activate the effect of Speed World 2!" he started, slowing down severely as his speed counters decreased by 10. "By giving up 10 speed counters, I can destroy one card on the field!" A bolt of lightning fell from the skies and hit Junk Warrior, causing the mechanized warrior to explode, leaving a paralyzed Casey to deal with Kaiser's monster.

"Dark Red Enchanter, destroy Field-Commander Rahz!" The spellcaster raised up his staff and hit Rahz with an electrified surge of crimson energy from his staff, which caused him to shatter into pixels.

"I'll set a card and end my turn."

(500-7000) [11-3]

"Not bad, but you aren't the only one who can do that! I also use Speed World 2's effect! I'll remove 10 speed counters to destroy that monster of yours!" Another lightning bold fell from the skies, eradicating Dark Red Enchanter.

"I'm not done yet!" continued Casey. She looked at the card she had just drawn, which was Educated Student Lv. 3*. "I summon Educated Spellcaster* (1000/100) in attack mode!" The small spellcaster appeared on the field, its second time being used by Casey.

"Thanks to his effect, I can special summon one level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my graveyard, but I have to negate its effect and it will be destroyed at the end of my turn." Marauding Captain appeared on the field again, though he looked more battle-worn this time.

"Of course, that doesn't really matter, since Educated Spellcaster* is a tuner! So I'll tune them both!" Educated Spellcaster* became three green rings that floated around Marauding Captain, who dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight*!"_

A knight covered in gold and silver armor appeared in the field, wielding a powerful sword of light and a strong shield. (2500/1900)

"Nice monster. What can it do?" asked Kaiser.

"It can take your life points down a notch! Attack him directly!" The knight swung his sword, releasing an energy blade that hit Kaiser head on.

"Your move."

(500-4500) [2-4]

Kaiser drew a card, pretty content with how the duel was going. "You know, you are a pretty good duelist. That monster of yours, I can see that its pretty strong. Honestly, though, you have to do better." he said, chuckling.

"Anyways, I'll set another card, and summon Injector Fairy Lily (400/1500) in attack mode!" Another one of Duel Monster's most seductive women appeared. This one was an angel dressed in a tight nurse's uniform, holding a large needle in her hand. Some of the men in the crowd cheered as they saw her make her appearance. Though other people in the crowd were disgusted by the behavior of these men, others knew well what was going to happen next.

"I'll end my turn with that. Your move."

(500-4500) [3-5]

"Hmph. That's all you can do? Seems like you are giving up already. In that case, I'll help you!"

Casey drew her next card, which was Kuriboh. "I'll set a card, and summon Educated Student Lv. 3* (1500/100) in attack mode!" A small kid appeared on the field, dressed in a school uniform and clutching a small spellbook.

"Educated Knight*, destroy his monster!" The shining knight swung his sword and fired an energy blade at Fairy Lily, who threw the giant needle at him as a counter. The blade was dispersed when it hit the needle and Educated Knight* raised up his shield, struggling to hold the attack back.

The needle exploded, but when the smoke cleared, Educated Knight* still stood on the field.

"What happened?" wondered Casey.

"Injector Fairy Lily has a pretty good effect. When she battles, I can give up 2000 Life Points to increase her attack points by 3000!"

"Good thing my monster is impervious to destruction through battle."

"Yeah, but you still take battle damage! Enough to make you lose the duel!" replied Kaiser.

"True, but by discarding the Kuriboh in my hand, I can negate it!" She discarded her Kuriboh, saving herself for this turn.

Her team watched from the pit, and they were worried. "This is bad. She should have remembered Fairy Lily's effect. She wouldn't be stuck in this position right now. If he uses her effect on his turn, he'll win this duel." stated Akira.

"Yeah, but she's still got a chance." said Zeke. "We'll just have to hope she can do this..."

"I'll end my turn!" said Casey, now trying to see how she would survive the next turn.

(500-2500) [4-6]

Kaiser drew another card, still satisfied with the duel. It was almost as if he wasn't worried about beating her, or even losing.

"I'll activate Fairy Lily's effect again, reducing my Life Points by 2000 points to increase her attack points again." Fairy Lily glowed with a green aura as her attack points went up, while Kaiser glowed with a red aura and his Life Points decreased.

"Fairy Lily attack again and end this duel!" Fairy Lily threw her giant needle again, aiming it at Educated Knight*.

The needle exploded on contact, but when the smoke cleared, the crowd saw two things. One, was Educated Knight* with his shield raised up, and kneeling down in defense mode. Two, was a trap card that was activated.

"Sorry, but I activated the trap card that Zeke had set before he lost. Its a trap known as Ready for Intercepting! This allows me to take a Warrior-Type or a Spellcaster-Type monster on the field and flip it into defense mode! I used it on my monster, preventing me from taking any damage." she explained.

Meanwhile, Zeke smiled, glad that she figured it out. "That's it for my help. Now its up to Blake's card and her deck to win." he said.

"Next, I'll activate my monster's effect. During either player's battle phase, I can send my Educated Student Lv. 3* from my field to the graveyard and special summon Educated Student Lv 5*."

The kid disappeared from the field, replaced by an older, teenage version of himself. This one held a larger, more advanced spellbook. (2200/1500)

"Not bad, but its still my turn. Since I haven't summoned yet, I can sacrifice my monster to summon Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third* (2200/500) in attack mode!" A young spellcaster appeared before him. He had short blue hair, wore green robes, and was wielding a staff that had a crystal orb that kept changing color.

"To continue, I'll activate the equip spell, Combo Platter*, and equip it to my monster." Alchimie began to glow with a red aura as the spell had activated.

"What does that do?" Casey asked.

"You see, my deck has some pretty powerful monsters, but some of them have certain summoning conditions. For example, the monster I'm about to summon needs me to remove Alchimie and another specific monster from my field, but if Alchimie is equipped with this card, I only have to remove him from play."

Alchimie glowed with a bright, blinding light, preventing most of the audience from seeing what was happening. Once their sight returned, they saw Alchimie standing next to Kaiser, though he looked much different than before. He had a pair of large bird wings and two arms with sharp talons instead of normal human hands. Not just that, but he was covered in white armor, which seemed to be made out of the metal from Cyber Falcon. (2400/1600)

"Meet, Alchimie - Sonic Flight*! You see, Alchimie has the ability to take on the powers of other monsters to make himself stronger. There are many different ways in which he uses his abilities, and in this form, he gets an extra 400 attack points for each Earth attribute monster that you control!" Alchimie glowed with a light green aura, his attack points going up to 2800.

"Sadly, I cannot attack, so its your turn."

(500-500) [5-7]

_'Damn... This guy has a pretty strong deck. From the looks of it, I need to work on beating him quickly, before its too late.' _she thought. She looked at the next card she drew. It was Negate Attack.

"I'll set a card, and activate my Educated Student's effect! By removing him from play during my turn, I can special summon Educated Student Lv. 7*." The teenage spellcaster disappeared, replaced by an older version of himself, who also held a larger spellbook than his previous self. (2800/2000)

He looked at Educated Student Lv. 7*. _'What is it? Why do you seem so familiar? What is it about that monster that is troubling me?'_ he wondered. His head had begun to ache. Something about that monster was bothering him, but he just couldn't figure out what.

"Sadly, I can't attack with him on the turn that he's summoned, but that's alright. Next up, I'll activate the card that Blake had set for me before he lost. I activate the continuous spell, Dangerous Machine Type-6! Of course, we'll get to that later. For now, I'll end my turn."

(500-500) [6-8]

"Alright, alright. I can see that you are duelist your hardest. Right now, we are pretty much even. Let's see if I can change that."

"I summon Otohime (0/100) in attack mode!" Another spellcaster appeared, though this one was a woman who seemed to use the natural forces of energy around her to fight, since she didn't have a staff, or even a spellbook.

"Thanks to her effect, when she's summoned, I can change the battle position of one of your monsters." Educated Student knelt down, holding his spellbook before him as if it were a shield.

"Alchimie, attack her monster!" A small cannon appeared on Alchimie's arm, and it shot off a powerful blast of wind that flew towards Casey's monster, only to be blocked by her trap card.

"Sorry, but my Negate Attack will stop that attack cold."

"Fine. I'll end my turn, then." Kaiser said, Otohime disappearing from his field. "Since she's a spirit, Otohime returns to my hand at the end of my turn."

(500-500) [7-9]

Casey looked at the speed counters go up as she drew her next card. _'I have to do something quick... If he uses Speed World 2's effect to destroy my knight, he'll be able to destroy my other monster too, and that means I'd only be one attack away from losing this duel...'_

All she had in her hand right now, was Gaia the Fierce Knight. "I'll activate the effect of Dangerous Machine Type-6! During my standby phase, I can roll a dice, and what happens depends on the result." A holographic dice appeared between them and began to spin rapidly. They watched as it slowed down, landing on a 3.

"Since it landed on a 3, I get to draw another card." As she drew it, she put all of her hopes on it, wanting it to be the one she needed to win this. A smile appeared on her face as she looked at the card.

"I'll activate the quickplay spell, Shrink! Now, I get to halve your monster's original attack points!"

Alchimie glowed as his attack points decreased to 1600.

"Sorry, but I have to stop you right here!" he said, revealing one of his set cards as Solemn Judgement. "By paying half my Life Points, I can stop that card's activation and destroy it!"

Casey sighed as her card was destroyed. "Then you leave me no choice. I switch my monsters to attack mode!" Her monsters stood up, each one making a fighting pose.

_'If I have my Educated Student sacrifice himself, then he'll be left with no monsters on the field, and my Educated Knight* can deliver the finishing blow!'_

"Educated Student Lv. 7*, attack his Alchimie!" As her monster got ready to attack, another one of Kaiser's traps revealed itself.

"I activate the trap card, Negate Attack, ending the battle phase right here and now!"

Casey took a quick look at her hand, and then looked back at her field. "I have no other choice but to end my turn now."

(500-250) [8-10]

Kaiser drew another card, the headache starting to bother him even more. "You know, this was fun and all, but I'm afraid this all ends here. I activate the speed spell, The End of Storm! This destroys every monster on the field, and we get hit with 300 points of damage for each of our monsters that was destroyed!"

A large bolt of lightning descended from the skies, striking down all the monsters and the duelists as well. Their Duel Runners stopped suddenly as their Life Points decreased to zero.

_"What a duel! Team Enigmatic and Team Inferno finish their first match in the WRGP with a draw! It is rare to see two teams so evenly matched that they tie on every turn! Truly, this was a fantastic duel to witness!" _said the announcer as the crowd cheered in the background.

Casey and Kaiser went back to the pit, each one quickly being surrounded by teammates.

"You did well, Casey. I can't believe I wasn't much help." said Blake.

"Thanks, but were great. That card of yours really came through for me." she replied.

"Yeah, well, I tried." Blake said, laughing.

Outside the stadium, reporters were eagerly waiting for the duelists to exit. Every time a duelist exited the stadium, he or she was immedeately swarmed by them. This happened with Team Inferno, who tried their best to get away from them as fast as possible.

Team 5D's and Team Enigmatic were the only ones who had avoided the press entirely, though this was mostly because Yusei and Jack wanted to talk to them privately.

"Tueur, I was curious. Where did you get your cards?" Yusei asked as he approached them.

Having heard this, Tueur quickly told his friends to go ahead without him. "Sure, Tueur. I have something else to do. I'll see you, Crusher, and Greuto at the apartment later." replied Kaiser, driving off on his Duel Runner, like Crusher and Greuto also did.

As soon as they were far enough, he turned towards Yusei. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious. I mean, those cards aren't exactly easy to get."

"True. I guess that just means that I know where to go."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I'm out of here. See you guys later."

As he was about to get on his Duel Runner, someone had grabbed his arm and held him back. When he turned and looked, he saw that it was Jack. "Listen, you little runt. Take that tone with us again and you'll have a lot of trouble on your hands. Just answer the damn question!"

Tueur stood silent for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, he got out of Jack's grip and grabbed his arm instead, slowly crushing it. "Tch. You Signers just seem to look for trouble. Stay out of my way, or you'll be the ones in trouble." He let go of Jack's arm and got on his Duel Runner, leaving them behind as they gathered around Jack to make sure he was alright.

"I'm fine." he said, rubbing his arm a bit as he got up. "More importantly, how did he know we were Signers?"

"I don't know... You think this could have something to do with the Dark Signers?" Yusei wondered.

"Didn't we take out Dark Signers already? You think there might be more?"

"Who knows. Either way, we'll need to investigate this further..."

A few hours later, at Yeager's office, Yeager stood face-to-face with Kaiser.

"What do you want?" he asked him.

"You made me and my crew join this competition. Despite our disagreement, I still went along with it. Then, on the day before the competition, you told me and Tueur not to win. You told us to duel them as best we could, and then make sure they were able to beat us. You even told us that if we didn't want to lose, then we should at least make sure that it resulted in a tie. Again, despite our disagreements, we agreed. So, now I want to know one thing... Why the hell did you put us in this competition if you didn't want us to win it?"

Yeager stared at him for a moment before answering. "To test them. To test _you_."

"Test me? Why?"

"You got a headache, didn't you? While dueling the girl, right?"

Kaiser's eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Of course you do. Why don't you take a look at the locket that you keep carrying around?"

Though cautious, Kaiser took the locket that was hidden under his shirt and opened it. A surprised look appeared on his face as he saw the picture of Casey. "What did you do to my locket? That's not the picture that was in there!"

Yeager laughed. "Oh? I haven't done anything to your locket. That picture has always been in there."

"That's a lie! The girl in the picture that I had here looked a lot different than Casey. She... She... She had..." Kaiser paused, unable to remember anything about her.

"Can't even remember how she looked, huh? Seems my powers are no match for you..."

Kaiser looked at him, his head starting to ache again. "Powers? What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember, Kaiser? It was part of our deal. You were feeling so alone, so lifeless in that cell. You felt you were betrayed, and you just wanted to die. That's when I came in. I knew you were worth a lot more than that, and that you still had reason to keep living."

"What are you talking about? That never happened."

"Of course it did, but how would you know? After a long talk with me, you revealed that you could not keep living with the painful memories that had surfaced after the betrayal. So, I told you that I could make those memories go away, as long as you did as I said."

Kaiser looked at him curiously, his headache getting stronger, and the words were starting to become more painful than before. "I... You... Erased my memories?"

"Yes. Or at least I thought. During your time in the Aguerris Center, you seemed to be coping well, up until that one day, about a little more than a week back. You should remember that day. You looked at the locket and then threw it against the wall in anger. Erasing a person's memories is easy, but with you... With you, I had too many to remove, which meant that some of them had to be altered, and some had to be added. That's the reason why you always saw someone other than Casey when you looked at the locket."

Kaiser began to clutch his head, the headache was getting even stronger, and he felt light-headed.

"Due to you having such feelings towards her, I decided to see if it was having any effect upon my spell, and guess what? It is. Once you saw Casey summon one of her strongest monsters, you recognized it, and it began to weaken my spell. You started getting that feeling. The feeling that you knew her before."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kaiser asked, clutching his head even more.

"Because you are ruining everything! Despite the deal that we made, your feelings are too strong for my spell to have an effect on you without making you useless! If I take your memories, then those feelings of yours won't have any reason to be there, and you'll just end up too focused on finding out why, thus ruining a vital part of my plan.

"So, I thought about taking away the feelings that reside in your heart, but that would leave you with no motivation, no reason to fight. If I take away both, I'll just end up with a lifeless puppet that I will have to use to duel myself, and that defeats the whole purpose of this. This is why, I shall return your memories. You shall remember everything that I have just told you, and everything that I told you the first time we met... And you shall finally do things as we stated in our last deal!"

A loud scream was heard coming from Yeager's office. It was ear-shattering, and it was heard throughout the building. Worried about Yeager's safety, Security quickly went to his office, knocking the door down in their hurry. To their surprise, they did not find anyone in there. In fact, all they found was that the office was completely destroyed and deserted.

"What happened here?" demanded Trudge as he caught up to the rest of Security.

"We don't know. Something must have happened to Vice-Director Yeager!" explained one the officers.

"Well, hurry up and find out! When the press finds out about this, we'd better have some answers for them!" he threatened, taking his leave to contact Mina and talk to her about this.

Sadly, their answers just didn't come fast enough...

By morning, every channel on tv was talking about the events of last night. Not only that, but Security now had two events to explain.

_"Security is currently looking into the two seemingly unrelated events that occurred in Neo Domino City last night. First, there's the matter of the possible murder of Vice-Director Yeager. After hearing a scream last night, Security rushed to his office, only to find that it was mostly destroyed, though no body was found." _said the anchorman.

_"About an hour after this, police get an anonymous call from an unknown source who mentioned that something strange was going on in a penthouse in the Tops district of Neo Domino. When Security arrived, they found that this place was also torn and in shambles. Upon investigating, they found out that the members of Team Enigmatic lived here._

_"After having searched throughout the whole building, they found two members of the team, Kaiser and Tueur, unconscious on the roof. Paramedics were called in to treat their multiple injuries, and Tueur was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. Kaiser, however, manged to end up in a better condition. Both duelists are being kept in the hospital for treatment, and are excused from participating in the WRGP. Security is currently investigating this matter, and no more information has been released."_

In their living room, Casey, Blake, Zeke, and Akira watched dumbfounded.

"Seriously? What the hell happened last night?" wondered Akira, being the first one to break the silence.

"I don't know. Looks like attempted murder of some sort. Wonder what sort of thing they must have been hiding to cause someone to go to such lengths..." replied Zeke.

"Want to visit them?" asked Blake.

"Are you kidding? In their condition, I doubt the hospital will allow visitors. Besides, I'm sure that Security will be all over the place to make sure nothing more happens to them." Akira replied.

"I wonder if we should investigate this..." Zeke added, though he was mostly talking to himself at the moment.

"Maybe, but I wonder what Yusei and his friends have to say about this." Casey mentioned. After having thought about it, they believed this to be a good idea, since they might now if anything strange had happened. Even if they didn't know how or why, they knew Yusei enough to know that he always got a feeling when something strange was going on, and he had yet to be wrong. Not only that, but they were also friends with Trudge, so they might be able to get extra information.

It didn't take them long to find Yusei and his friends, who were in the garage of the small place that they called home. They had come in to find Yusei, Jack and Crow having an argument about Crow joining in on the next duel. Fortunately, they had arrived the end of it, with Crow stating that he would be dueling against Team Catastrophe and that no one would stop him.

"Hey, guys. I was wondering if you had heard about Team Enigmatic being hospitalized." said Zeke.

"Heh. Them? Seems like you've missed the recent updates on the news. Not only are they there, but so is Team Unicorn and Akiza too." Crow replied.

"Really?" asked Casey. "Wow. All these events cannot be unrelated."

"They aren't. At least not what happened to Team Unicorn and Akiza. We aren't exactly sure how, or why, but we know that Team Catastrophe is behind all of this somehow. Not to worry, though. When we duel them today, I'll make sure to teach them a lesson!" Crow stated, motivated to gain vengeance for his friend.

"We'll while you guys do that, we'll be trying to check this out." Akira said.

During this time, however, Blake was fighting with himself. On one side, he was extremely excited, yet extremely nervous, now that he was so close to his heroes. On the other side, however, he wanted to be calm so that he wouldn't say something that the current mood wouldn't approve.

After a few moments of going through this inner battle, he realized that Zeke, Casey, and Akira had already said their goodbyes and were leaving, causing him to quickly chase after them so he wouldn't be left behind.

As they drove towards the hospital to try and talk to Tueur and Kaiser, they noticed that it was getting darker. Things were about to get worse before they'd ever get better...

**End of Chapter 7.

* * *

**

_An army of Ghosts has invaded the city, and as Yusei and friends try to fight them off, Casey and her friends get caught in the very middle. Though things may look bleak, they aren't in this alone. Don't miss: The Ghost vs. the Phantom!

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_

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Alchimie - Sonic Flight - Monster Card

Type: Winged Beast

Attribute: Wind

Level: 6

ATK: 2400

DEF: 1600

Effect: This card can only be special summoned by removing from play "Master of Alchemy-Alchimie the Third", "Sonic Bird" and "Cyber Falcon". This card gets 400 attack points for every Earth attribute monster on the field.


	8. Chapter 8: The Ghost v the Phantom!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).

* * *

**

**Chapter 8: The Ghost vs. the Phantom**

Angered with Team Catastrophe's failure, Placido decided to use his rage and turn it into something a little more... productive. Upon seeing Yusei and his friends succeed in their latest match, he decided to take matters into his own hands, releasing his army of Ghost robots into the city.

Once they learned of this, Yusei and his friends, along with Sherry and Mizoguchi, went into the city to stop them and rescue the other turbo duelists that were in need of help. Though they were trying their hardest, they couldn't help everyone.

The ones who knew this to be a fact were none other than Team Inferno, who was struggling to deal with all of the Ghost robots that were currently after them.

"Ally Salvo, attack!" commanded one of the robots. The monster attacked Blake's monster, Combat Wheel. When the monster exploded, it took down Blake's monster also, as well as his trap card. With nothing to protect him, the rest of the Ghost robots (or as Placido called them, the 'Diablo'), were free to attack him directly.

A loud explosion was heard, and Blake's Duel Runner stopped, the Diablo riding past him. "Guys, it looks like its up to you to stop them!" were Blake's last words as he was left behind.

"Damn it! These guys just don't stop!" Zeke stated. "We have to get rid of that trap card somehow! As long as its on the field, they'll be able to keep using Ally Salvo's effect!"

"What do you want us to do? There's too many of them! There's no way we can win this!" Akira replied.

"Come on, you two! We can't give up! We can do this!" Casey told them.

"Are you kidding? We are severely outnumbered! They'll take us out before we even get a chance to set up a combo that can beat them!" said Akira.

"You can't just give up! What about all those times when things have looked bleak, but we always made it through?" Casey replied.

"Believing isn't enough this time! You think that our chance at winning is just going to come out of nowhere?"

"Oh shut it, Akira!" yelled Zeke. "Turning on each other won't help us out at all! You guys need to keep going! I'll try holding them back as much as I can!"

His friends nodded, and sped up, as Zeke remained behind to deal with the Diablo that were following them.

A few minutes later, multiple explosions were heard, and when Casey and Akira looked behind, they saw that the Diablo had caught up to them.

"Shit! They took out Zeke, too!" cursed Akira.

Two of the Diablo had caught up to them, and were about to attack them, when every single Ally Salvo except one exploded. Surprised, the Diablo turned to see what could have caused this, when they were pushed aside by a mysterious duelist on a streamlined Duel Runner that was completely black with five streaks of silver running from the tip of the runner to the back.

The mysterious duelist caught up to Casey and Akira, with a strange monster on his field. It was dark-skinned with numerous orange markings all over its body.

"As long as Kotodama is on the field, there can be only one monster with the same name on the field at a time. So all your Ally Salvo are destroyed!" the mysterious duelist stated.

Akira looked at the duelist carefully, and had the feeling that there was something familiar about him, though the helmet prevented him from confirming any of the ideas he had about who this guy is.

"You..." began the Diablo, Placido's voice being transmitted through it. "You stubborn little insect! I thought I took care of you already, Phantom!"

"Heh. You wish! You messed with the wrong people! This isn't your war, so don't even think about getting involved more!" Phantom replied.

"Care to back that up, you miserable little insect?"

"Alright. If I win, then you stay out of this war."

"And if I win... Then I'll take you and your little friend out. As it stands, you two are a huge threat to my plans, and beating you will allow me to take care of that problem easily!"

"Alright, then. Duel!"

Casey and Akira stayed behind them, so they wouldn't accidentally interfere with the duel.

"Well, Akira. I hope this duel ends your obsession with Phantom. You've seen him, and you're about to watch him duel, that should be enough." Casey told him.

"Heh, I don't care about that at the moment. I mean, true, I can't believe that I am this close to figuring out who he is, but right now, I'm just glad he helped us out." Akira replied, chuckling a bit as the duel began.

(4000-4000) [0-0]

"I'll take the first turn!" demanded Placido.

"I'll start by setting two cards on the field, and summoning Ally of Justice Core Destroyer (1200/200) in attack mode." A strange alien machine appeared on the field, its form similar to that of a scorpion.

"Your turn."

(4000-4000) [1-1]

"Uh-oh. I've seen this type of deck before." said Akira. "Its full of monsters that automatically destroy light monsters, and if the opponent doesn't have any, then they'll just use DNA surgery to fix it."

Phantom drew a card and quickly checked his hand. He held Skilled Dark Magician, Summoner of Illusions, Malevolent Nuzzler, Armed Changer, House of Adhesive Tape, and Maha Vailo.

"I'll summon Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode!" The dark spellcaster appeared on the field, wearing his usual black robes and holding a metal staff that had an orb of swirling darkness at the top.

"Next, I'll set two cards on the field..." Armed Changer and House of Adhesive Tape were set behind Skilled Dark Magician.

"Skilled Dark Magician, attack his monster!" As his monster was about to attack, one of Placido's set cards revealed itself.

"I activate the continuous trap, DNA Surgery! Thanks to this, I can change the attribute of all monsters on the field to Light!"

"There it is..." murmured Akira.

Skilled Dark Magician attacked, but the monster then countered, destroying him instead.

"What?"

"Thanks to my monster's effect, if it battles a Light attribute monster, the monster it battles is destroyed by his effect!" Placido said, laughing.

"I'll end my turn, then."

(4000-4000) [2-2]

"That's something you should have done long ago! It seems you didn't learn your lesson in our last duel! Don't worry, though. I'll make sure you learn it this time."

Placido drew another card. "I summon Ally Salvo (400/300) in attack mode!" Placido smirked, as he would soon be able to use this monster's effect to wipe out Phantom's spell and trap cards, but it soon faded when Ally Salvo exploded into bits. "What happened?"

"Trust me when I tell you that I learned something from my last duel." said Phantom, pointing to the activated House of Adhesive Tape. "When you summon a monster with less than 500 defense points, I can activate this card and destroy that monster!"

"Too bad that can't stop me from attacking! Core Destroyer, attack him directly!" Core Destroyer fired off an energy beam that hit Phantom directly, causing him real harm.

Panting, Phantom glared at Placido. "Oh, what the matter? Did that hurt?" Placido said sarcastically as he laughed.

"Its your move now."

(2800-4000) [3-3]

Phantom winced as he drew his next card, Fires of Doomsday.

"I'll set a monster on the field, and a card. I'll end my turn."

Summoner of Illusions and Fires of Doomsday were set on the field.

(2800-4000) [4-4]

"You said you learned from our last duel, but you wasted your turn with that monster. Guess we'll have to repeat what happened in our last duel!" said Placido as he drew a card.

"I summon Ally of Justice Searcher (1400/100) in attack mode!" A robotic alien tank, with two robotic arms and lasers, appeared on the field.

"If you remember, when he's summoned, I can discard a card from my hand and flip one of your monsters, without activating its flip-effect, if it has one." Placido discarded one of his cards and Searcher shone a light at the hidden monster, revealing it to be Summoner of Illusions. (800/900)

"Trying to summon a fusion monster again? I believe that failed to work for you the last time! Anyways, Core Destroyer, rid the field of that monster!" Core Destroyer fired another beam, this time aiming it at Summoner of Illusions, and blew it to pieces.

"Now, Searcher can attack you directly!" As Searcher prepared to fire its lasers, one of Phantom's cards revealed itself.

"I activate the quickplay spell, Fires of Doomsday! This gives me two Doomsday Tokens (0/0)!" Two small tokens, made of dark flames with one eye, appeared on the field.

"Searcher, destroy one of the tokens." Searcher fired one of its lasers at the token, eradicating it with ease.

"I'll end my turn."

(2800-4000) [5-5]

Phantom looked at the card he drew, Breaker the Magical Warrior.

"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (1600/1000) in attack mode!" The armored spellcaster appeared on the field, a small orb of light appearing around him, increasing his attack points to 1900.

"Ha! I remember that monster! So what if its attack points increase? Your monster can't do anything while DNA Surgery is on the field!"

Phantom smiled underneath his helmet. "So you think. Breaker has another effect that I didn't use in our last duel. If I remove one spell counter..." The floating orb of light disappeared. "I can destroy one spell or trap on the field!"

Placido had a look of horror as Breaker attacked the card, destroying it. "You'll pay for that, worm!"

"Now that Breaker is once again a Dark attribute monster, he can destroy your Core Destroyer!" Breaker jumped into the air and stabbed his sword through Core Destroyer's head, causing it to explode violently.

"Heh. Now it's your turn."

(2800-3600) [6-6]

Placido looked at the field as he drew a card. "I'll sacrifice my Searcher, to summon Ally of Justice Clausolas (2300/1200) in attack mode!" Searcher disappeared, and a large mechanized bird appeared where it once stood. "Clausolas, destroy his Breaker!" Clausolas grabbed Breaker with its talons and crushed it.

"Next, I'll set a card and end my turn."

(2200-2600) [6-6]

Phantom drew his next card, which was Crystal Seer.

"I'll set a monster and end my turn."

(2200-3600) [7-7]

"Ha! Seems you're already running out of tricks."

Placido smiled as he looked at his hand. "I summon Turbo Rocket (0/0) in attack mode!" A small cartoon rocket appeared on the field.

"Next, I'll tune my monsters together!"

Turbo Rocket became two green rings that floated around Clausolas, who became five glowing stars. The stars shone brightly, and when their light faded, a large, robotic, alien ship hovered in the sky, looking down at the field. (2400/1600)

"Meet, Ally of Justice Light Gazer!"

Though it wasn't possible to see, Phantom was shocked to see such a powerful monster. Even in his last duel against him, Placido hadn't gone to such lengths to defeat him.

"Light Gazer, attack!" The large alien robot fired a volley of missiles that destroyed Phantom's set monster.

"When Crystal Seer is flipped, I can pick up the top two cards from my deck and add one to my hand, as long as I add the other to the bottom of my deck." He picked up the top two cards of his deck. It was Neo the Magic Swordsman, and Mage Power. He discarded Neo and added Mage power to his hand.

"Its your turn now."

(2200-3600) [8-8]

Phantom looked at the next card he drew. It was Combo Platter. _'Good. If I can get Alchimie, I can defeat Placido this time.'_ he thought. He looked at the cards in his hand and on his field. _'And I know just how to do that...'_

"I summon Maha Vailo (1550/1400) in attack mode!" The strangely dressed spellcaster appeared on the field, sitting in a meditating pose. "Next, I'll equip him with Armed Changer!" Maha Vailo glowed as its attack points rose to 2050, while Phantom discarded his Malevolent Nuzzler. "When Maha Vailo is equipped with equip spells, he not only gets their bonus, but he also gains an extra 500 attack points for each spell he's equipped with!"

Phantom then placed another equip spell on the field, Mage Power. "When Mage Power is activated, the monster equipped with this card gains 500 extra attack points for each spell and trap on my field." Maha Vailo glowed once more as its attack points rose to 3050.

Even Placido couldn't help but be shocked by the power that this monster had. "Maha Vailo, destroy his Light Gazer!" The crystal on Maha Vailo's head glowed, shooting off a powerful energy beam that hit Light Gazer, causing it to explode.

"Also, when a monster equipped with Armed Changer destroys a monster by battle, I get to add a monster with attack points that are equal to or lower than my monster's." A card slid out from his deck and he added it to his hand.

"Your move."

(2200-2950) [9-9]

"Nice move, but sadly, it was in vain!" Placido said as one of his traps lifted up. "I activate Synchro Spirits! By removing the Light Gazer in my graveyard from play, I can special summon the monsters I used to synchro summon it." Ally of Justice Clausolas and Turbo Rocket appeared on the field.

"Next, I summon Ally of Justice Unlimiter (600/200) in attack mode!" A small machine appeared on the field, floating close to the other monsters like a miniature ship.

"Now, I'll tune my monsters together!"

Turbo Rocket turned into two green rings that floated around Clausolas and Unlimiter, who dissolved into eight glowing stars. A bright light shone for a moment, and when it faded, an even larger machine was on the field, made up mostly of three high-tech alien cannons. (3300/3300)

This time, everyone was shocked, not just Phantom. Casey could barely focus on her driving after having seen it, the mere sight making her nervous. Akira felt the same, though he managed to focus more on his driving than Casey did on hers.

"This is Ally of Justice Decisive Armor." Just then, another trap revealed itself. "I also activate another DNA Surgery. Though your monster is already a Light attribute monster, its nice to have a plan B. Anyways, Decisive Arms, attack Maha Vailo!" The large machine fired off its three cannons, eradicating Maha Vailo.

"Heh. Your turn."

(1950-2950) [10-10]

Phantom looked at the Speed Spell - Shift Down card that he drew.

"I activate the speed spell, Shift Down! I'll remove 6 speed counters to draw a card." Phantom fell behind as his speed counters went down.

He looked at the two drawn cards, Speed Spell - Summon Speeder, and Dark Elf.

"I activate the speed spell, Summon Speeder, allowing me to special summon a level four monster from my hand!" Dark Elf, the darker version of Mystical Elf, appeared on the field.

"Now, I'll sacrifice her to summon Master of Alchemy- Alchimie the Third!" As the well-known spellcaster appeared on the field, Casey and Akira gasped.

"Wait! That means... Kaiser, is that you?" asked Akira.

Phantom turned his head to them, and nodded. "Yeah..."

"How can it be you? I thought you were hospitalized!" Casey asked. It was then that she noticed the blood that was running down his neck. "You're hurt!"

"He is?" Akira asked, worried that something might happen to Kaiser.

"That's what happens when certain things have to be done." he replied.

"Are you crazy? You can't duel like this!" Casey stated, but Kaiser just ignored her.

"I'll activate his effect, which destroys any card that changes his attribute!" DNA Surgery shattered before Placido's eyes. "Next, I'll equip him with Combo Platter. I believe you remember what this does..."

"All to well..." Placido mumbled as Alchimie changed form.

Alchimie glowed with a bright light that blinded everyone. When it faded, a taller, more muscular Alchimie stood on the field, holding a sword and wearing tribal clothes. (3000/0)

"This is Alchimie's second strongest form. Prepare to fall before Alchimie - Valor Form*!"

"That thing isn't strong enough to take down my monster!" Placido bragged.

"Not yet, but thanks to his effect, I can halve his attack points and attack you directly!" Alchimie glowed with a red aura as he attacked, hitting the Diablo robot.

"Your turn."

(2200-1450) [5-11]

"Good try, but not good enough! I'll activate the effect of Speed World 2!" Placido fell behind Kaiser as his speed counters decreased.

"By giving up 10 speed counters, I can destroy one card on the field!"

Though he pointed at Alchimie, Kaiser's Doomsday token exploded instead. "Sorry, but by sacrificing a monster on my field, Alchimie can prevent being destroyed!"

"No matter!" Placido said with a laugh. "Decisive Armor, destroy his Alchimie!" The large machine fired its weapons, its attack engulfing both Alchimie and Kaiser.

"Kaiser!" Casey and Akira cried out.

Once the smoke had blown over, Kaiser was struggling to stay conscious. Though it started low, his maniacal laugh quickly grew louder. "Congratulations. I didn't think I'd have to go this far."

The Diablo robot looked at him questioningly. "What are you talking about? I just destroyed your strongest monster! There's nothing more you can possibly do!"

Kaiser continued laughing. "Not my strongest. I'm not done yet!" he said, his Life Points decreasing.

"Why are your Life Points going down?"

"After a monster with 'Alchimie' in its name was destroyed by battle, I can pay half my Life Points. If I do that, then I get to special summon a certain monster from my deck." A portal opened next to his Duel Runner and a large dragon flew out. It was as big as Decisive Arms, and resembled Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon, though it wasn't decaying, and was bigger and more muscular. its body glowed different colors. (3750/0)

"Meet Alchemy Dragon*!" The Diablo looked at the monster in shock, unable to believe its power, and neither could Casey or Akira.

"Look at that thing!" murmured Akira.

"I'll set two cards and end my turn!"

(950-1450) [6-2]

Kaiser looked at the next card he drew.

"I'll set a card on the field."

"Now, Alchemy Dragon, attack his Decisive Arms!" The dragon released a powerful beam from its mouth, making a hole in Decisive Arms' armor just before the large machine exploded.

"I activate my trap card!" One of Placido's traps lifted up. "Its called Revival Ticket! At the end of your battle phase, if you destroyed one of my monsters, I can destroy one of my cards for each monster that was destroyed, and in exchange, I can special summon that monster from my graveyard!"

Placido's second set card shattered as Ally of Justice Decisive Arms reappeared on the field.

"I'll end my turn." Kaiser said, his vision starting to get blurry. _'Have to defeat him before I pass out...'_

(950-1000) [7-3]

"Heh. I'm afraid you've lost, insect! Though I must admit, you did a lot better this time, you still failed to defeat me again!" Placido stated, cackling as he placed a card on the duel disk.

"I summon another Ally of Justice Unlimiter!" Another one of the small alien machines appeared on the field. "By sacrificing him..." As quickly as it appeared, the small machine was gone. "I can double the attack points of one 'Ally of Justice' monster on my field!" Decisive Arms revealed three more cannons on its body as its attack points rose to 6600.

"There's no way Kaiser can survive that!" Casey stated.

"Decisive Arms... Attack!" Placido commanded, the large machine firing its lasers at Alchemy Dragon. The explosion was loud and deafening, but out of the smoke flew a beam of light that headed for the Diablo robot.

"What?"

"I activate my trap card, Dimension Wall! This turn, any battle damage I take is inflicted to you instead!" Kaiser explained as the beam hit the Diablo, resulting in a deafening explosion that reduced its Life Points to zero.

Casey and Akira celebrated as they saw Kaiser defeat the Diablo.

"Congratulations. Our deal is done. We shall stay out of the war..." said Placido through the robot's head before it exploded.

Moments later, Casey and Akira ceased their celebrating as they heard a loud crash. When they looked, they saw Kaiser on the ground, his helmet off and his Duel Runner a few feet away.

They rushed over to him, wanting to help. When they looked at him, they saw that half of his face was bandaged and covered in blood, as was the rest of his body. "We need to get him back to the hospital, fast!" Akira said.

"Alright." Casey replied, helping Akira pick up his body and put it on her Duel Runner.

"Casey, you take him to the hospital. I'll find Zeke and Blake and have them help me take his Duel Runner."

Casey nodded yes as she rode off to the hospital, leaving Akira behind.

_'Heh... Kaiser, I'm glad that you helped us out. Despite your recklessness, I'm actually glad you were there. In fact, you actually remind me of one of my friends...'_ she thought as she drove to the hospital.

**End of Chapter 8.

* * *

**

_With Kaiser's help, Casey and Akira managed to survive being overrun by the Diablo. However, this was just a temporary break. With the WRGP postponed, Casey and her friends are going to find out that getting attacked by the Diablo was done for something more than just helping Placido further his plans. Destiny's Informant is next.

* * *

_

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Alchimie - Valor Form - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 8

ATK: 3000

DEF: 0

Effect: This card can only be special summoned by removing from play "Master of Alchemy-Achumulus the third" and "Gilford the Legend". By halving this card's attack points, it can attack your opponent's life points directly. If this card were to be destroyed by battle or by a card effect, you can tribute one monster on your field to prevent its destruction.

* * *

Alchemy Dragon - Monster Card

Type: Dragon

Attribute: Dark

Level: 9

ATK: 3750

DEF: 0

Effect: This card cannot be normal summoned or card can only be special summoned from your deck, graveyard or hand to the field by paying half your Life Points when a monster with 'Alchimie' in its name is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard. You can tribute two monsters on your field to destroy a monster on your opponent's field with equal or less attack points than the combined attack points of the tributed monsters. 


	9. Chapter 9: Destiny's Informant

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Land of Confusion by Disturbed_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9: Destiny's Informant**

The next morning, Casey, Akira, Blake, and Zeke were all standing around Kaiser's bed in the hospital, waiting for him to wake up. Though they weren't family, after having brought him in last night, the doctors agreed to let them visit him after he was stable.

At around 9 am, Kai woke to see all of them surrounding him. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked weakly.

"We wanted to thank you." answered Casey.

"For what?"

"For helping Casey and Akira against the Diablo. If it wasn't for you, then they might have to be in the hospital too." Zeke said.

"Don't think too highly of it. I just had a score to settle with someone..."

"Someone... You mean the guy that was controlling the Diablo, right?" wondered Akira.

"Yeah."

"What did he do, anyways?" asked Casey.

"He's the one who put me and Tueur here in the first place..." he explained.

"So that means... What we saw in the news was the result of your duel?" Zeke said.

"I haven't seen the news..."

Though it was obvious that Kaiser was just avoiding the question, Zeke decided to leave it be. Not just because Kaiser was hurt, but also because he was grateful for what he did.

"Hey Kaiser, I've been wondering..." said Akira, Kaiser turning his head to look at him. "The guy controlling the Diablo said you were Phantom. I've been trying to find out about you since they first mentioned you in the news."

"And?"

"And I wanted to know how you knew how to find all those guys that Security never could."

"Security knew just where to find them. They were just unable to apprehend them."

"What do you mean?" he wondered.

"I was hired by Yeager to chase down these criminals and capture them. They gave me a target, all the information on him, and then it came down to me to find him and catch him."

"Yeager? So, is there any chance that that Placido guy had something to do with his disappearance?"

"I don't know, but I do know that once he's gone, so is Phantom..." he murmured.

"What does that mean?" Akira wondered.

"It means just what I said. Yeager is the one who hired me, and since he's gone, it means that Phantom has no more business here, so he doesn't need to continue to exist..."

"I see..." Akira said.

Kaiser yawned slightly, then his eyes narrowed for a moment when he heard a sound. "Anyways, I need to get some more rest, so I'd appreciate it if you guys leave."

"Only if you answer one more question..." replied Zeke, everyone else staring him curiously.

Wanting them to hurry and get out, he decided to accept. "Fine. What's your question?"

"I've been wondering..." Zeke started, pausing for a moment. "Why did you let us win the match?"

Kaiser smirked. "What are you talking about?"

"The WRGP... You had a speed spell in your hand. If you had used Speed World 2's effect, you would have beaten Casey, and won instead." he explained.

"I have my reasons..." he stated. "Now if you please, leave."

With a sigh, Akira left, everyone else quickly following him soon after. As they waited for the elevator to get there, they saw a team of Security officers rushing past them, heading to Kaiser's room.

"Quickly! We can't let him get away!" said one of the officers.

"Don't worry! The place is surrounded, so he can't escape!" replied another officer.

A loud crashing noise was heard as Security knocked the door down rushed in, while many of the other patients and staff started to panic.

"What the hell? He's not here!" yelled one of the officers.

The officers quickly ran back down the stairs to check on the other floors, while the officers that stood outside scouted the area in case they saw anyone suspicious.

"Wonder what's going on..." murmured Zeke as he and his friends entered the elevator, wanting to get out of there quickly so as not to get into any trouble.

* * *

A couple of hours later, at their apartment, Zeke, Casey, Akira, and Blake on the couch in the living room. Each one was busy with something of their own. Akira was busy dealing with all the information he had found on Phantom, and was debating on whether to forget about it all, or to just put it all someplace safe where it wouldn't bother anyone.

Zeke was busy modifying his duel disk, adding some extra attachments that might help him. Blake was checking out his deck, wondering if he could make any significant changes to it that would help him in future duels, though it was mostly because he was annoyed by the way he lost in the WRGP. Casey was busy thinking about her duel against Kaiser and Tueur.

_'Is it true what Zeke said? Did Kaiser really let us win? Why, I wonder. In fact, now that I think about it, Tueur special summoned that monster of his, though he didn't have to, since he still had another monster on the field, which would let him survive for another turn, meaning that he could have planned a counterattack.' _Casey thought.

Just then, clattering was heard coming from the kitchen. Alarmed, they all set their stuff aside and hurried to the kitchen, where they found a man dressed in the same military uniform used by members of the U.S. army. He was muscular, looking bigger and taller than anyone else in the apartment.

Zeke raised his duel disk and activated it. "Who are you, and why are you trespassing in our apartment?"

The tall man laughed. "I see you are smart enough not to try to pick a physical fight with me, but its obvious that you underestimate my dueling skills. Forgive my intrusion, but I'm here on business."

"Business?" asked Zeke, still cautious enough not to lower his duel disk.

"Yes. My name is Brutus. I am here to explain a few things to you all..."

"What kind of things?" wondered Akira.

"Those nightmares that you and Zeke have been having lately."

"I never told anyone I was having nightmares..." stated Zeke, his eyes narrowing.

"Neither have I..." added Akira.

"Of course not. Why would you? After all, if you told anyone, they'd just tell you that it is no big deal. Its just your imagination. And if you tell them about how you could swear it all was real, they'd probably label you as crazy. Of course, I already know the truth that few others do. About how you guys once tried to help this world."

"Sounds like you are the only crazy one here..." muttered Zeke.

"Really? You know, those dreams you've been having, you can call them nightmares all you want, you can deny that they are real, and you can try to block them out, but the truth is that repressed memories usually return to you at one point."

"Repressed memories?"

"Yes. Don't you remember the black fog that engulfed all of Satellite about a year ago? How you met each other, as well as a person named Matsuda Hideyoshi."

"Matsu...?" asked Casey.

"Yeah. If I remember correctly, all of you learned that the reason you survived being swallowed by the fog was because you were all part of the war between the Signers and Dark Signers. Once you learned this, you decided to take it upon yourselves to defeat the Dark Signers, not wanting the Signers to risk their lives."

Zeke lowered his duel disk. "I... It sounds familiar, but I can barely remember it..."

"Of course. You see, when the Dark Signers said that only a Signer can defeat them, that had some grain of truth to it... Mere 'Servants', as they called you, weren't blessed with enough of the Crimson Dragon's power."

"Wait, so you mean..." Casey gasped as she realized what this meant.

"By the look on your face, I can tell that you figured it out. Though they fought valiantly, Akira, Zeke, and Matsu fell before the might of the Earthbound Immortals."

"What I don't get is..." Zeke began. "If we were defeated, then how can we be here? If I remember my dream correctly, those duels were duels of life and death. If we lost, we should have been gone too."

"True, but the Signers were able to defeat the Dark Signers, and save the world. Thanks to this, the Crimson Dragon not only had mercy on the Dark Signers who unwittingly fell victim to this war, but also to the servants who fought so valiantly to protect the Signers. As a parting gift, he had erased these events from your memories."

"Then why do we keep dreaming about them?" questioned Akira.

"Because, Destiny won't let you guys forget what you have done. Doing so would prevent you from seeing what you must do."

"You sound like you are speaking in riddles." stated Blake. "Just get to the point already."

Chuckling, the man continued. "Alright. The point is that even though the Crimson Dragon was trying to help you guys by erasing your memories, he no longer has any power over you, since Destiny no longer ties together the bonds of the 'Servants' with that of the Signers and the Crimson Dragon. You guys have a new destiny now, and it breaks the power of whatever had come before."

"Thanks for telling us this, but I still don't get why you are here." Zeke said.

"I am here because I have to prepare you for your true destiny. Part of your destiny is still tied with that of the Signers, and it must be seperated. You must sever your ties with the Signers if you want to fulfill your destiny."

"Who says we even want to fulfill this destiny?" yelled Zeke. "Besides, you want us to stop being friends with Yusei and his friends? What would ever make us do that?"

"Well..." started the man, smirking. "The whole point of Kaiser's duel yesterday was to stop Placido from interfering with your destiny. He views all of you as a threat to his plans, but he is something that the Signers have to handle. Fortunately, thanks to Kaiser, Placido shall no longer interfere, but that doesn't mean that another force will ignore us. Unless you guys seperate yourselves from the Signers, more events similar to the one that occurred with Kaiser shall occur to you also."

"You mean what was in the news?" asked Blake. "The whole thing about his apartment being destroyed."

Brutus nodded. "That was Placido's attempt at eliminating him, and suffice to say, he almost succeded."

"You know, now that I think about it, Kaiser mentioned something about a war yesterday to Placido..." Casey said.

"That is your destiny. Tell me, how much do you about history?" Brutus asked.

"I know some, but how much differs on what place you are talking about." stated Zeke.

"Thousands of years ago, in Greece, a group of powerful deities known as 'Titans' ruled the Earth. Cronus, having been the one to take control from his father and become leader of the titans, was told by his parents that one of his children would defeat him and gain power. To thwart this prophesy, he swallowed each of his children as they were born. Being immortal, this did not kill them, but they remained trapped inside him. Saddened by the loss of her children, his wife, Rhea, gave birth to Zeus and tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, while keeping her son safe and sound in island of Crete. The infant Zeus grew quickly, history says it took only a year. Between his strength and the advice of Gaia, Zeus was able to force Cronus to throw up first the stone, and then all his siblings one by one.

"What happened immediately afterward is not clear, but the war between the gods and Titans - the Titanomachy - soon begins. Some of the Titan's children fought alongside their parents, though others did not. The war was fought without success on either side for ten years, with the gods based on Mount Olympus, and the Titans on Mount Othrys. These two mountains flank the area of northern Greece called Thessaly, Olympus to the north, and Othrys to the south. Since both sides of this war were immortal, no permanent casualties were possible. Finally, however, the gods triumphed with the aid of older powers."

"Other powers?" wondered Blake.

"Yes. Uranus, Cronus' father, had long ago imprisoned the three Cyclopes and the three Hundred-Handers in dark Tartaros. Advised by Gaia, Zeus freed these monstrous cousins of the Titans and was rewarded with their aid. The Cyclopes gave lightning and thunder to Zeus to wield as weapons, and in later accounts also created Hades' helmet of darkness and Poseidon's trident. The Hundred-Handers provided more direct assistance. In the final battle, they kept the Titans under a constant barrage of hundreds of thrown rocks, which together with the other gods' strengths, particularly Zeus' thunderbolts, overcame the Titans. The defeated Titans were hauled down to Tartaros and imprisoned there, and the Hundred-Handers became their jailors."

"I'm guessing that from there on, the gods that were based on Mt. Olympus became rulers of the Earth, right?" Akira asked.

"You'd be right. However, the Titans are both powerful, and immortal. Though the Olympian Gods believed they were safe from the threat of these Titans, they didn't count on them being able to hold a grudge for so long."

"A grudge?" questioned Casey.

"The Titans have been able to release themselves from their prison, and they currently want revenge. Knowing how the last war went, they decided to learn from their mistakes, and fight the Olympian Gods on equal ground, more or less."

"Equal grounds?" Zeke asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means that they no longer care for betrayal. They want to defeat the Olympian Gods, and have given them a chance to fight back. Due to the immense power that they release from their fights, they knew that having a war here on Earth would be devastating. So, they decided to make an agreement. The Titans and the Gods would gather allies to help them fight the war, and they would also find a representative to transmit part of their power so they can also fight. Since they cannot fight in the heavens, or on the Earth, they decided to battle it out through Duel Monsters."

"Duel Monsters? I guess that makes some sense if they want to battle on equal grounds. Still, how does this affect us?" Akira murmured.

"It affects you because you are all part of this war. Each of you has been chosen to participate, and we need you all to fight for the fate of the world. If the Titans regain power, they'll return the Earth to its previous state of chaos. That is why the Gods have chosen you. They are small in number, and thus, need strong duelists to take their power and defeat the Titans."

"What do you mean, 'small in number'?" Blake asked. "I thought you said that the Titans have given the Gods a chance to gather allies for this war."

"They have, but the Titans have managed to make almost every powerful deity in this dimension to join with them, while the Olympian Gods have manged to obtain only a few allies. As a result, the Titan assault shall be a worldwide one."

The group gasped as they heard this. "Are you serious? Are you actually expecting us to fight off all of the Titans ourselves?" yelled Blake.

"No." the man said with a chuckle. "Actually, the Olympian Gods are still trying to gather allies, but they have decided to divide and conquer. In other words, the Olympian Gods shall be spread throughout the world, recruiting any duelist that they deem worthy of fighting in this war and giving them a portion of their power."

"One question, though." Zeke interrupted. "I thought that there were many Olympian Gods."

"That is true, yet not true. There are many _minor_ Gods, but few _major_ Gods. Sadly for us, most of these minor gods have sided with the Titans, causing us to resort to such tactics to battle them. From what we've learned, the Sacred Beasts have decided to side with the Titans as well, all except for Uria, who sided with us. Though Uria may be powerful, if he is defeated by the Titans, the Titans shall be able to obtain the full power of the Sacred Beasts."

"The Sacred Beasts...?" murmured Blake. "You mean those powerful monsters that were said to be hidden in Duel Academy all those years ago?"

"The very same. The Fates don't tell us much, but they have warned us of the Darkness, who has joined forces with the Titans. They also say that the Wicked Gods may have joined them, but haven't been fully clear about this. However, you lot are to battle the Titans that shall be coming after you, and unfortunately, the Gods can only grant one of you their power."

"Who will that be?" Casey asked.

"Destiny likes to reveal certain things at certain times. When you have efficiently proven yourselves, the Gods shall tell you. Meanwhile, you must get ready, for the war is about to start soon."

"Wait... If only one of us can have their power, how can the rest of us fight?" wondered Blake.

"Do not worry. Our allies shall aid you by temporarily lending you their power when you will most need it." Brutus explained.

"Who are your allies?" Zeke asked.

"In the realm in which the Olympian Gods live, other Gods exist, Among them, are the Egyptian Gods."

Upon realizing what this meant, Zeke gasped. "So, the Egyptian Gods are your allies?"

"In a way, they are. You see, they agreed that this is something that had to be stopped, but they had their own matters to attend to, and could not help us personally. They did, however, tell us that they would lend a portion of their power to a certain duelist. They even mentioned his name... **Akira Takamori.**"

Akira stood shocked. "Me? Why?"

"They have deemed you worthy of using their power, and have knowledge of the problems you've been having regarding your turbo deck. They want you to be the one to harness this power, but you shall have to travel to Egypt to obtain it, since it has been locked away for many years."

"Still, how can you expect us to believe all this?" Blake asked.

"You all know it to be true in your hearts. Whether you wish to admit it or not is out of my hands. Now, if that is all, I have to take my leave."

"I have a question..." Casey said, taking a couple of steps forward.

"What is it?"

"You said that the 'Servants' of the Signers were involved in this, and you also mentioned that Matsu was a Servant. So, I want to know more of what shall happen, with him, and the rest of us. Can't you tell us what will happen?"

Brutus shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't know all that much. If you want to know, you'll have to talk to the Fates. I'll have them visit you as soon as possible if you have anything to ask them, but I have to go. Do not worry, though. If you guys need assistance with anything, I'll come to your aid." he stated, smiling as he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The group stood silent for a moment, then Blake broke the silence. "So Akira... You going to take a little trip to Egypt soon?" he said, laughing.

**End of Chapter 9.

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**

_Having learned of their destiny, and their roles in this world-wide war, Casey and her friends have to figure out what their next step is. To help them out, the Fates have come with their confusing riddles, and it's up to Casey, Blake, and Zeke to figure out what they mean. Don't miss: A Duel against Fate!_


	10. Chapter 10: A Duel against Fate! pt 1

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

A/N: The archetype that will be used in this chapter has some pretty devastating effects in both real life and in the anime. However, I will not be using the effects that these cards had in the anime, though I will be changing the name of one of the cards to match the tarot card, since I think its better that way. Also, the meanings of some cards will change to fit the story, as their original meanings don't fully fit here.

_Theme Song: All The Right Moves by One Republic  


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**Chapter 10: A Duel against Fate! pt. 1**

It had been two days since they met with Brutus, who explained their destiny to them. Though they still found it kind of hard to believe, they had listened to him, getting the feeling that he was making sense. Brutus showed up once more to give Akira a message, and quickly left. Akira did the same, taking the first flight to Egypt that he could find, though he promised his friends he'd be back soon.

It was morning, and Casey and Zeke were eating in the kitchen, and Blake, whom they allowed to stay there for a while, was in the living room watching the news. Suddenly, he came rushing into the kitchen, pointing to the tv. "Hey guys! Look at this!"

They all rushed to the living room, Blake turning up the volume on the tv.

_"Though the highways are still under construction after what happened a few days ago, the freak storm that assaulted our peaceful city, other buildings are also under construction. The Security Tower has been busy fixing the office of the Ex-Vice-Director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, who has mysteriously disappeared and is presumed dead. Though Security still isn't sure who would do this, or why, they are intent on finding out. So far, they assumed that Team Enigmatic were also victims of the same thing that threatened the Vice-Director..." _said the reporter.

"So, whoever is behind Vice-Director Yeager's disappearance is also behind what happened with Kaiser and his friends?" wondered Zeke.

_"... a vital piece of information found three days ago, which showed that Team Enigmatic was mysterious for a reason. The reason why no duel record was found during the WRGP is because they are made up of a group of four high-profile criminals who had recently escaped from the Aguerris Center. Though all of them are dangerous, the most dangerous of them are the ones who go by the name of Tueur and Kaiser, being just a few crimes short of being on Security's ten most wanted list."_

The group gasped as they heard this. "You're kidding!" murmured Casey. "But, they seemed so nice..."

_"Once they learned of this, Security was about to rush in and take action, wanting to apprehend them and send them back to prison, but was stopped by Officer Trudge, who mentioned that they were hospitalized on the same night as Vice-Director Yeager's disappearance, after suffering a similar fate as him. He commanded them to bring in Kaiser and Tueur for questioning, since they might have some information that might help them, and they were the only ones who could possibly know something about this, since the other half of Team Enigmatic has also disappeared. As they rushed into the hospital to bring them in for questioning, they found the rooms empty, and no trace of either Tueur or Kaiser. They are currently trying to decide whether to put an alert out on these criminals, as both of them are known to be in weak physical condition and in need of medical attention. For now, just be on the lookout for them and report them to Security so they can be given medical attention. Given their condition, it is doubtful that one might be in danger if they encounter them. Still, caution must be exercised."_

"Wow... I didn't know that about them. Still, if they are in need of medical attention, how'd they escape?" Casey wondered.

"Its possible that they had help..." Blake stated.

"Or that they were taken..." added Zeke.

"True." Blake admitted. "Wouldn't that mean that they need help, then?"

"Yeah, but since we don't know anything else, we can't do much." Zeke replied.

"What do we do now? I mean, we've barely even begun to prepare for our battle." Casey asked, unaware of the smile on Zeke's face.

"Easy. The battle hasn't begun, so we need to have fun before it does, because it might be the last time we do this." Zeke stated.

"Really? What did you have in mind?" Casey asked unenthusiastically.

"Well..."

* * *

A few hours later, Casey, Blake, and Zeke stood at the entrance to Kaiba Land. They walked through the entrance, having only to flash the tickets that Zeke had obtained the day before to enter, and gazed at the wondrous attractions.

"Been a long time since I've been here..." Casey murmured.

"Heh. I'm pretty sure that its been a long time since any of us has been here. But as long as we are here, I suggest we enjoy it." Zeke stated, smiling.

Casey and Blake nodded, following him as he ran to one of the rides.

The day went on pretty well. Blake had brought a camera, so he was able to take pictures of everything he could. Surprisingly enough, they had time to ride almost all of the rides, though they wasted some time for Blake to get better after he got sick from the Blue-Eyes Jet Coaster, which was said to be their fastest roller coaster.

After that, they spent some time watching the Kaibaman Show and some duels featuring some of the local duelists at the Duel Stadium. They also entered the Monster Horror Building, in which Casey and Blake were easily scared. Zeke only laughed at this, which caused Blake to get revenge by scaring him a little later as they were exiting the place, though they had to drag a fainted Zeke out of there by themselves.

During lunch, Casey ate her food quickly so she could go ahead and look around the shops. Meanwhile, Zeke and Blake got into a little grudge match between each other and decided to settle it with a series of eating competitions, ranging from eating strange foods, to heavily spiced foods. Needless to say, by the time Casey returned, they were knocked unconscious by whatever they had eaten.

She waited a bit for them to wake up, and then had to wait for them to explain what happened, which took quite a bit of time as they kept interrupting each other.

"Excuse me, would you guys like to know your fortunes?" said a voice from behind them. When they turned around, they saw a tall, young woman with blond hair in a revealing bright red dress standing behind them. Upon seeing her, Blake and Zeke managed to stop their fighting and just stared at her.

"Yeah!" they agreed, pulling Casey along with them, despite her protest.

The woman took them to a small purple tent that wasn't too far from where they were, all the while Casey tried to tell her friends that this was a bit strange, though they just ignored her. As they stepped inside, they saw that the inside was much bigger than the outside.

As they looked around the large, yet dimly lit tent, a cloaked figure walked into the light. "Step forward, Casey, if you wish to know your fortune..."

Alarmed, Zeke and Blake broke out of their trance and raised their duel disks, stepping before Casey as they tried to protect her. "Who are you?" Zeke asked.

The cloaked figure simply pointed to Casey. "Sorry but right now, I am here for the girl. If you guys want to know your fortunes, you can try it after we are done."

"Well, you aren't getting that chance unless you explain yourself." Blake stated.

The figure sighed. "Very well. We are the Fates. I believe it was Casey who wanted to know her fortune, so I'm here to do that. If you two please, move out of the way so that the duel may begin."

"Duel?" Casey asked as Blake and Zeke lowered their duel disks and stood to her side.

"Yes. We cannot just tell you your fortune so easily. You must pay a price. Through the duel, I shall tell you your fortune, but it shall be said so little by little. To get all of the information, you must defeat me." said the figure.

"Alright." Casey agreed, activating her duel disk.

(4000-4000)

"I'll begin, and in case you are wondering, you may call me Faye." stated the cloaked figure.

"That's your name?" Zeke wondered. "I wasn't aware that the Fates had individual names."

"We don't, but that doesn't mean that we don't like to individualize ourselves from time to time. Besides, this body is mostly a copy of a girl we met long ago. Her name was Faye, so why not take the name too?" she explained.

"Now, let's continue. To begin this duel, I'll start by setting two cards, and activating the field spell, Light Barrier!" She placed the cards on the disk, and then they were surrounded by a ring of light that illuminated the whole tent, revealing it to be much bigger than they had originally thought, looking it spread for miles and miles.

"Your turn."

(4000-4000)

"No monsters?" Casey asked as she drew a card.

"I am telling you your fortune, don't start questioning my methods..." Faye replied, slightly annoyed by her question.

"Okay..." Casey looked at her hand. She held Field-Commander Rahz, The Warrior Returning Alive, Protective Whistle*, Reinforcements of the Army, Obnoxious Celtic Guard, and Spiritual Earth Art - Kurogane.

"I'll set two cards, and summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard!" The more skillful version of Celtic Guardian appeared on the field, the two cards she set appearing behind him. (1400/1200)

"Attack her directly!" Celtic Guard rushed at her and swung his sword, striking her duel disk as she used it for a shield.

"I'll end my turn."

(4000-2600)

"I'll start by activating the effect of Light Barrier. First, I toss a coin..." A holographic coin appeared and spun around, landing on heads. "Now, when I summon an 'Arcana Force' monster, I can skip the coin toss and just pick an effect to activate." Just then, another one of her cards activated.

"Now I activate the continuous spell, Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen! Once per turn, if I control no monsters, I can special summon a Fairy-Type monster from my hand. So, I will be summoning Arcana Force VI - The Lovers." A dark monster appeared on the field, looking barely human, and even less feminine. It was only one monster, despite its name giving one the idea that there were two. (1600/1600)

"I now activate Light Barrier's effect, allowing me to choose one of its effects. I choose the first, meaning that it counts as two sacrifices when I summon an Arcana Force monster."

Casey looked at the monster with curiosity.

"This duel shall explain to you the question that you wanted to know, the one regarding your friend, and your fate." she said.

"Really?" Casey asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Such is the case here. The Lovers represents the two of you, and how one makes a sacrifice for the other."

Casey lowered her head for a moment. She was right. _'That was what happened with Matsu...'_

"Up next, since that was a special summon, I can still make another summon. I summon Shining Angel!" An angel dressed in robes like the ancient greeks used to wear, appeared on the field. (1400/800)

"Shining Angel, attack Obnoxious Celtic Guard!" The angel threw a punch at Celtic Guard as he struck with his sword, both monsters shattering and turning to pixels as they killed each other.

"Thanks to the effect of my monster, I can special summon a Fairy-Type monster from my deck when he's destroyed, as long as the monster that I summon has 1500 attack points or less." She took a card from her deck and placed it on the duel disk. The monster that appeared looked sort of like a court jester, yet a bit more regal and sophisticated, and without a jester's hat. (1100/1100)

"Meet Arcana Force I - The Magician! By using the effect of Light Barrier, I can choose to activate the first, meaning that when a spell card is activated, his attack points double until the end of the turn. This card represents skill. The ability to make things happen, which is something that the sacrifice had. I'll have The Lovers attack you directly."

The Lovers appeared before Casey and threw a light punch that went through her, though the phantom pain from the duel disks caused her to partially feel it.

"I'll set a card and end my turn."

(2400-2600)

"Not bad." Casey as she drew another card.

"I activate Reinforcements of the Army to add a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck to my hand!" As she took the card from her deck, The Magician glowed with a bright light as its attack points doubled.

"I summon Marauding Captain!" A young warrior wielding two swords appeared on the field. (1200/400)

"Thanks to his effect, when he's summoned, I can special summon another Warrior-Type monster from my hand. I summon Educated Spellcaster*!" The small spellcaster appeared on the field, wielding its small staff in its hand. (1000/100)

"And its effect lets me special summon a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my graveyard, thought its effect is negated, and it will be destroyed at the end of my turn." Once again, Obnoxious Celtic guard emerged onto the field, though he seemed slightly saddened by his previous defeat, shielding himself with his sword. (1400/1200)

"I tune my Marauding Captain and my Educated Spellcaster!" Educated Spellcaster became three green rings that floated around Marauding Captain, who dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight*!"_

A knight covered in gold and silver armor appeared in the field, wielding a powerful sword of light and a strong shield. (2500/1900)

"Next, I'll activate the effect of the Turret Warrior in my hand, letting me sacrifice a Warrior-Type monster on my field to special summon him, and if I do that, then his attack points are raised by the original attack points of the monster that I sacrificed." Obnoxious Celtic Guard dissolved into pixels that became the large, mechanized, Turret Warrior. (1200/2000) = (2600/2000)

"Educated Knight, attack The Lovers!" The knight fired an energy blade at the monster, but the attack was halted by one of Faye's traps.

"Negate Attack? Well, I guess I have to end my turn now..."

(2400-2600)

The effect of Light Barrier activated, tossing a coin that, once again, landed on heads.

"I summon Arcana Force IV - The Emperor!" A large robotic monster appeared on the field, large metal wings protruding from its back, and four tentacles at the end of each arm. (1400/1400)

"Thanks to Light Barrier, I activate his first effect, which increases the attack points of all 'Arcana Force' monsters on my field." All of her monsters glowed as their attack points rose. The Magician now had 1500 attack points; The Lovers, 2100; and The Emperor, 1900. "I also activate Double Summon, allowing me to make another normal summon this turn."

"Now, to continue with the story... This is where The Emperor comes in. Despite the skillfulness of the sacrifice, The Emperor was just too powerful."

One of her set cards rose, activating. "I activate the continuous trap, By Orders of the Emperor! This lets me choose to negate the effect of an effect monster who's effect activates when its summoned, and if I do, I can draw a card. Now, I'll sacrifice The Lovers to summon Arcana Force XII - The Hanged Man!" The Lovers dissolved into pixels that became a large tree with a crystallized, cocoon with four tentacles hanging from it. (2200/2200) - (2700/2200)

"Thanks to my trap, I choose to negate its effect. Stagnation, victory through surrender. The sacrifice achieves his goal by giving up his life, sacrificing himself for others to achieve victory."

Casey gasped. "If Matsu is the sacrifice, then, does that mean...?"

"Yes, it does. The man that you loved so much no longer exists, his existence taken away by the Emperor!"

"You've got to be lying!" Casey said, not wanting to believe it was true.

"The Fates never lie, little girl. We speak only what has happened, and what shall happen. Believe it or not, but you asked to know, and we are telling you. The Hanged Man, attack Turret Warrior!" The cocoon stretched its tentacles and wrapped them around Turret Warrior, squeezing until he monster was crushed.

"I end my turn."

(2300-2600)

_'Damn it... I won't believe her, she can't be right!'_ Casey thought as she drew a card.

"I summon Command Knight in defense mode!" The regal knight, dressed in red and gold clothing, appeared on the field, using her sword to defend herself. (1200/1900)

"With her effect, all Warrior-Type monsters on the field get an extra 400 attack points." Command Knight glowed as her attack points rose to 1600, while Educated Knight's attack points rose to 2900.

"Educated Knight, destroy The Hanged Man!" Her knight fired an energy blade from his sword, cutting the cocoon in half.

"I end my turn with that."

(2300-2200)

Light Barrier activated its effect again, though this time, the coin landed on tails, which negated its effect until the next turn. Still, this didn't seem to bother Faye at all.

"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards." She took a quick look at them. "I see you fear what I am telling, but it is something you'll have to accept. Do not be sad, though. The man of which we speak had the ability to make things happen, and just like you, he had to choose his fate. Now, its your turn."

A spell card appeared on the field, depicting two tarot cards and someone trying to choose one of them. "Now you must pick a card from my hand, and if it is a monster, then I'll be able to special summon it."

Casey chose the one on the right, causing Faye to place it on her disk. "You just picked Arcana Force XXI - The World!"

A large, dark machine appeared on the field. Its size taking up so much space that one could hardly see its face. (3100/3100) - (3600/3100)

"As you see, this is the fate that you shall end up choosing. Fighting your world for survival, and the one who affects its power the most is The Emperor. You will have to fight them both to win this war, and it shall not be an easy battle. This is all I can tell you, however, since this duel is over."

"It is not!" Casey stated, wanting to get more answers.

"Yes it is. I already know that your monster is immune to destruction through battle, but it is not immune to attacks. I activate the equip spell, Megamorph! Since I have lower life points, I can equip this card onto The World and double its original attack points!" The World glowed as its attack points rose to 6700.

Casey and her friends just stood there, in shock and awe, unable to do anything against this beast.

"Attack her Educated Knight and end this duel!" The machine extended its clawed hand and crushed Educated Knight, completely reducing Casey's Life Points to zero.

The holograms disappeared along with the field spell, causing the dim lightning that was in the tent when they first entered to return.

"Until you can fight your world and defeat it, you cannot fight this war without being a hindrance." stated Faye.

Casey lowered her head. "Please... Tell me that you were wrong. Please tell me that Matsu is still alive..." she pleaded.

"Sorry child, but the Fates don't lie. The man gave his life to help you defeat The Emperor, and you need to acknowledge that."

"Sorry..." she whispered. "I... I just can't believe it..."

Faye sighed and turned to leave, but stopped when Blake spoke up. "What happened? There's no exit!"

Faye turned to him. "Your fortunes are the next ones to be told, so be ready." she explained, disappearing into the darkness.

"Are you kidding me...?" murmured Blake, annoyed by the fact that another duel would have to go through before they could leave this place. "Wonder who's going to be dueling now?"

"Why don't you come and find out?" said a voice. When he looked up, he saw that it was the same woman who had guided them there.

Blake's eyes widened. He never even noticed her leave their side, and here she was, standing before him. "Because I don't know who's fortune is going to be told next."

"Its you, of course. Your fortune is next to be told, and just like with Faye, you'll have to defeat me to get all the answers." she explained, activating her duel disk.

"Alright. You're on!" Blake replied.

**End of Chapter 10.

* * *

**

_Casey has just dueled against one of the Fates, who predicted some very unfortunate news. As she tries to deny what Faye told her, Blake is busy with his fortune, trying to get some answers regarding his fate in this war. However, just like Casey's opponent was strong, so will his. Can he defeat his opponent and get all the answers he needs? Find out in A Duel against Fate! pt. 2 _


	11. Chapter 11: A Duel against Fate! pt 2

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

A/N: Though I forgot to mention this before, in this story there will be a card that will be often used by Blake. That monster's effect shall be the one featured in the anime, since I think its much better than the broken effect it has in real life.

* * *

**Chapter 11: A Duel against Fate! pt. 2**

Casey had already been defeated by Faye, the first of the Fates. As Zeke watched over her, Blake was busy with his fortune.

"Mind telling me your name?" Blake asked. "Or do you not have one?"

The woman chuckled. "Of course we don't, but just like Faye, I like having a name every once in a while. You can call me Trina."

"Alright. So, what do you say we start this duel already?" Blake asked.

"Let's." she replied as they both activated their duel disks.

(4000-4000)

"I'll start." declared Trina.

"I'll set two cards on the field, and summon Dark Blade in attack mode." A knight wearing pitch-black armor appeared on the field, the two set cards appearing behind him. (1800/1500)

"Your turn."

(4000-4000)

Blake drew his card and looked at his hand. He held Bokoichi the Freightening Car, Machine Duplication, Machine King, Magnet Circle Lv. 2, Combat Wheel, and Backup Soldier.

"I'll start by activating the spell card, Magnet Circle Lv. 2! This allows me to special summon a level two or lower Machine-Type monster from my hand, like Bokoichi the Freightening Car!" A small, banged-up freight car with a fiendish face appeared. (500/500)

"Next, I'll set a card, and activate the spell card, Machine Duplication! This allows me to choose a Machine-Type monster on my field with 500 attack points or less and special summon two more from my deck." Two more Bokoichi appeared on the field.

"Now, I'll sacrifice one to summon Machine King!" One of the Bokoichi exploded. When the smoke dispersed, a high-tech and powerful robot stood on the field. (2200/2000)

"Thanks to his effect, he gets an extra 100 attack points for each machine on the field." Machine King glowed as its attack points rose to 2500.

"Attack Dark Blade!"

Machine King threw a punch that completely crushed Dark Blade.

"I end my turn."

(4000-3300)

"That is so like you..." Trina said as she drew a card.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"All you do is power yourself up, only making yourself stronger." she replied. "I activate the continuous spell, Frontline Base, which allows me to special summon a level four or lower Union monster from my hand, such as Protective Soul Ailin." A small boy with two white wings on his back appearing on the field, wearing angelic robes. (0/0)

"Next, I summon Indomitable Fighter Lei Lei in attack mode!" A large muscular warrior, with the lower half of a beast appeared on the field, wearing armor that seemed to be a customized version of the armor that gladiators wore. (2300/0)

"Also, Ailin's effect allows him to be treated as an equip spell and is equipped to Lei Lei." Ailin flew up to Lei Lei and sat on his shoulder.

"Lei Lei, attack his Bokoichi!" Lei punched the freight car, causing it to explode and decreasing Machine King's attack points to 2400.

"Though Lei Lei would normally be switched to defense mode, Ailin's effect allows me to switch him back to attack mode. Now I end my turn."

(4000-3300)

Blake looked at the card he drew, Future Fusion.

"I activate the continuous spell, Future Fusion. By sending from my deck to the grave the monsters listed on a fusion monster, I can special summon that fusion monster on the second standby phase after having activated this card." He took his Giga-Tech Wolf and his Cannon Soldier and put them in his graveyard slot.

"Now, Machine King, attack Lei Lei!" Machine King threw a punch at Lei Lei, but Ailin jumped in front blocked the attack, though he was crushed in the process.

"What was that?"

"When Lei Lei is going to be destroyed in battle while equipped with Ailin, Ailin gets destroyed instead." she explained.

"Damn... That's it for my turn."

(4000-3200)

"I activate the effect of my Frontline Base, allowing me to special summon Doitsu!" A small paper airplane appeared on the field, with a yellow figure sitting on it. It looked human, but was faceless and it was hard to find any descriptive characteristics. (100/200)

"Next, I summon Soitsu." Another monster, similar to Doitsu, appeared on the field, though this one was green. (0/0)

"A monster with no attack points? Must have a good effect..." Blake murmured.

"Actually, it has no effect at all."

"What? Then why summon such a useless monster?"

Trina chuckled. "By equipping Doitsu to Soitsu, Soitsu gets a nice little attack boost." Doitsu jumped on Soitsu's paper airplane, causing Soitsu's attack points to become 2500.

"What the hell is that?"

"You said it was useless, but you are about to see just how useless it can be... Soitsu, attack his Machine King!" Soitsu's airplane flew towards Machine King. They collided, causing a huge explosion that only Soitsu managed to survive.

"I'll set two cards and have Lei Lei destroy your Bokoichi." Lei Lei did as she said, crushing the machine into bits.

"I activate the trap card, Roll Out! This lets me take a union monster from the graveyard and equip it onto the appropriate monster, like Protective Soul Ailin." Ailin appeared once more, sitting on Lei Lei's shoulder.

"I end my turn."

(3900-3200)

Blake looked at the card he drew. _'This can at least stall her for a while...'_

"I summon UFO Turtle in defense mode!" A large turtle with a hard, metal shell that resembled an alien spaceship appeared on the field. (1400/1200)

"Your move."

(3900-3200)

"Stalling, are we? Don't worry, its pretty easy to fix that. I summon Decayed Commander!" A zombie warrior wearing blue samurai armor appeared on the field. (1000/1500)

"Thanks to his effect, I can special summon a Zombie Tiger from my hand when he's summoned." Next to Decayed Commander, a zombie tiger with a decaying body covered in bandages appeared. (1400/1600)

"Zombie Tiger is a union monster, and when he's equipped to Decayed Commander, he increases the commander's attack and defense points by 500." Decayed Commander mounted Zombie Tiger, releasing a battle cry as its attack points rose to 1500, its defense rising to 2000.

"Soitsu, destroy his UFO Turtle!" Soitsu attacked the large turtle, destroying it completely, which only caused another one to appear.

"Decayed Commander, destroy it!" Decayed Commander charge at the monster, cutting it in half with his sword, only to have a third one appear. "When Decayed Commander is equipped with Zombie Tiger and he destroys a monster, you have to discard a card in your hand." Blake glared at her as he discarded his only card.

"Lei Lei, destroy that one too!" Lei Lei attacked the last of the turtles, destroying it too. This time, Giga-Tech Wolf appeared on the field. (1200/1400)

"You'd better grasp the lesson soon, or else you'll never get it!" she stated as she motioned the end of her turn.

(3900-3200)

Blake looked at the card he drew. Black Salvo. _'Perfect! I think this is what I need!'_

Just then, Labyrinth Tank appeared on the field. (2400/2400)

"I summon Black Salvo!" The small tuner monster, which looked like a round bomb with a comical face, appeared on the field. (100/1100)

"Thanks to his effect, I can special summon one level four Dark attribute monster from my graveyard in defense position, though its effect is negated." The Cannon Soldier he had discarded to summon Labyrinth Tank had appeared on the field. (1400/1300)

"Now, I'll tune them together!" Black Salvo dissolved into three rings that surrounded Cannon Soldier, turning it into four glowing stars.

_"When things look bad, bring in the firepower! Synchro Summon! Back me up, Dark Strike Fighter!"_

There was a flash, and a large robot appeared on the field. It resembled a robotic version of a large bomber jet. (2600/1800)

"I'll have my Dark Strike Fighter destroy your Soitsu!" Dark Strike Fighter fired a missile at Soitsu, but Doitsu jumped into the way, sacrificing himself.

"Now, my Giga-Tech Wolf can destroy Soitsu without a problem!" Giga-Tech Wolf attacked Soitsu, tearing it to shreds with his metal claws.

"Labyrinth Tank, destroy Lei Lei!" The tank charged at Lei Lei, but a trap card activated. "I activate Prepare to Strike back. When you attack a defense position monster, I can toss a coin. If I call it right, then the monster is switched to attack mode. I call heads." A holographic coin appeared and spun around, landing on heads. Labyrinth Tank continued its attack, but was blocked by Ailin.

"I end my turn."

(3900-1800)

"You still don't seem to get it. Look at all the trouble you are having getting rid of my monsters. I bet you haven't even noticed that they are all at level four!" Trina stated.

Blake's eyes widened. _'She's... She's right! All of them are level four, and they've been so troublesome! Still, I don't get what she's trying to tell me with this...'_

"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards. Next, I activate my Call of the Haunted trap card, which allows me to bring back my Dark Blade." Once again, Dark Blade emerged onto the field. (1800/1500)

"Now, I'll sacrifice my Lei Lei, to summon Kiryu!" Lei Lei disappeared from the field, replaced by an aggressive red dragon. (2000/1500) "And I can equip him to Dark Blade, to increase his attack points by 900!" Dark Blade mounted the large dragon, its attack points becoming 2700.

Blake gasped as he saw this. "What the? There's no way that's possible!"

"Oh, it is. Now, attack his Giga-Tech Wolf!" Dark Blade flew at the machine, cutting it in half with his sword. "Also, I unequip my Zombie Tiger, so that I may activate this spell card." she said, placing a card on her duel disk. "Its called Share the Pain. I can sacrifice one monster on my field, and in return, you must pick one of yours to destroy. So, I sacrifice my Decayed Commander, and..."

"I'll sacrifice my Labyrinth Tank." Blake stated. It was either it or Dark Strike Fighter, and he wasn't about to let Dark Strike Fighter go.

"Good choice. Now, I end my turn."

(2400-1800)

_'Damn it...'_ he thought. _'Don't have much I can do... I can attack her Zombie Tiger, but it wouldn't inflict enough damage to beat her. I have the same problem if I use my monster's effect, since I can only use it once per turn. Can't believe how this duel is turning out...'_

"I activate the equip spell, Germ Infection, and equip it onto your Dark Blade!" Dark Blade glowed with a yellow aura, which slightly weakened it.

"Now, Dark Strike Fighter, attack her Zombie Tiger!" Dark Strike Fighter fired a missile that exploded the decaying Zombie Tiger to bits.

"I end my turn with that."

(2400-600)

Trina sighed as she drew her next card, her Dark Blade's attack points decreasing to 2400, causing Blake to smile.

"Before I defeat you, I'll tell you this..."

"Are you kidding? Your monster is weaker than mine, There's no way that you can do enough damage to beat me now." Blake gloated.

"You simple-minded fool. You rely only on your strength, and not on the strength of others. Your limited strength shall be your downfall!" she said with a lot of tension in her voice. It was easy to tell that Blake had angered her some. "I activate the effect of Frontline Base, allowing me to summon Pitch-Dark Dragon to the field." Another dragon, similar to Kiryu, appeared on

the field, though this one was, as its name implies, a pitch-black color. (900/600)

"Now, I activate the spell card, Gift of the Martyr, allowing me to sacrifice my Pitch-Dark Dragon and add its attack points to Dark Blade until the end of this turn." Pitch-Dark Dragon dissolved into pixels that fused with Dark Blade, increasing his power.

"Now, I activate the effect of Kiryu. I can sacrifice him while he's an equip spell..." Kiryu dissolved into pixels and disappeared, causing Dark Blade's attack points to become 2400. "And in return, Dark Blade can attack you directly!"

"What?" Blake cried out in surprise.

Dark Blade rushed past his monster and attacked him, reducing his Life Points to zero.

As the monsters faded, Trina looked at him. "Figure it out quickly, for there isn't much time left..." she told him. As she turned and walked into the darkness, she spoke again. "Zeke, you are the last one. Better get on with your duel if you want to get out of here..."

**End of Chapter 11.

* * *

**

_Blake has failed to defeat Trina, who was one of the Fates. Due to this, the answers he wanted came in the form of riddles, and he must figure them out in order to help his friends fight this war. First, however, he must get out of there, and that won't happen until Zeke duels the last of the Fates, and hears his fortune. Up next, A Duel against Fate! pt. 3. _


	12. Chapter 12: A Duel against Fate! pt 3

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).

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**

**Chapter 12: A Duel against Fate! pt. 3**

It was now down to the last duel. Zeke stood before the last of the Fates, who called herself Anne. Though he wasn't all that interested in hearing his fortune, he had to go through with this if he wanted to get his friend out of this damn tent. The way he saw it, it was just another duel.

Their duel disks activated, Zeke allowing Anne to take the first turn.

(4000-4000)

"You know, Zeke..." she said in a cold voice.

"You are a very special guy..." she commented.

"I'm guessing you aren't going to tell me why though, right?" he wondered.

"Not yet. First, we need to start to this duel. I'll start by activating the spell card, Graceful Charity. This will allow me to draw three cards, and then discard two from my hand." She drew three cards, scanned her hand quickly, and then discarded two.

"I'll start by summoning Masked Dragon in defense mode, and then setting two cards." The small red and white dragon appeared on the field, shielding itself with its wings. (1400/1100)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Zeke quickly drew and looked at the cards in his hand. He held Swallow's Nest, Garuda the Wind Spirit, An Owl of Luck, Rock from the Valley of Haze, Spiritual Wind Art - Miyabi, Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds.

"I'll start by setting a monster..." He set An Owl of Luck on his duel disk. "And I'll set two cards. Your turn."

(4000-4000)

"You are a special guy... You remind me of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon..." she said as she drew her next card.

"Really? How?" he asked, though she simply ignored him.

"I activate the spell card, Nobleman of Extermination. With this, I can choose one face-down monster and remove it from play. If its an effect monster, then both players must remove all other copies from their deck."

An Owl of Luck appeared on the field, before being struck by a sword that removed it from play. Then, another one appeared, and it was also struck with the sword and removed from the field. _'Damn... There goes my second and last copy of that card...'_ Zeke thought.

"Fortunately, I don't have that monster in my deck, so I don't have to worry about that. To continue, I sacrifice my Masked Dragon to summon Armed Dragon LV5." Masked Dragon disappeared from the field, replaced by a big, red dragon with black leather armor and small wings. (2400/1700)

"Now my monster shall attack you directly." Armed Dragon raised its arm and punched Zeke, pushing him back a few feet due to him having used his duel disk as a shield.

"Turn end."

(1600-4000)

As Zeke's Life Points dropped, he felt discouraged. Neither one of his friends could defeat the Fates, and based on the way this duel was going, he wouldn't either. This, however, changed as soon as he saw the card he drew. It was Raiza the Storm Monarch.

"I summon Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds in defense mode!" A green humanoid bird sitting in a defensive position appeared on the field, as inert as possible. (1000/1000)

"I end my turn with that."

(1600-4000)

"You remind me of the Red-Eyes. Though strong, it is not powerful..." she said as she drew.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, though he knew that she wasn't going to answer him.

"I activate my dragon's effect, discarding a monster from my hand to destroy a monster on your field with equal or lower attack points. I discard my Masked Dragon, and my Armed Dragon will destroy your Statue."

"Not so fast!" cried Zeke, one of his cards activating.

"I activate the quicklplay spell, Swallow's Nest, allowing me to tribute my monster to summon another one from my deck with an equal level." Barrier Statue of the Stormwinds started a small tornado, and when it was gone, a small blue bird with a few flaming feathers around his head in the shape of a crown floated where it once stood. (1600/1200)

"For example, my Blue Winged Crown. This means that your monster loses its target and its effect is wasted."

"Not bad, but my monster still has its attack, and it shall use it on your monster." As Armed Dragon was about to punch Blue-Winged Crown, a trap revealed itself on Zeke's field, causing a tornado to engulf the field for a moment. When it dispersed, Neither Blue-Winged Crown or Armed Dragon were on the field.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I used the effect of my trap card, Spiritual Wind Art - Miyabi. By sacrificing a Wind attribute on my side of the field, I can return one card on your side of the field and place it at the bottom of your deck." he explained.

"Very well. I activate the spell card, Level Modulation. By allowing you to draw two cards, I can special summon a 'LV' monster from my graveyard, though I can't attack, or use its effect during this turn." Another Armed Dragon LV5 appeared on the field. (2400/1700)

"Where did that one come from?"

"It was one of the two cards I discarded after having used Graceful Charity. Now, I believe my turn is over." she stated.

(1600-4000)

Zeke drew a card and looked at his hand. He currently held Garuda the Wind Spirit, Raiza the Storm Monarch, Roc from the Valley of Haze, Follow Wind, Simorgh Bird of Ancestry, and Magic Jammer.

"I remove from play the Barrier Statue in my graveyard to special summon Garuda the Wind Spirit!" The phantom image of Barrier Statue appeared on the field, and then faded out as Garuda appeared. (1600/1200)

"Next, I'll sacrifice him to summon Raiza the Storm Monarch!" Garuda faded out, and a large, green, humanoid bird with green metal armor and a cape appeared on the field. (2400/1000)

"Now, his effect activates. When he's tribute summoned, I can return one card on the field back to the top of its owner's deck." Raiza hit Armed Dragon with a powerful gust of wind that turned it into an orb of light that floated back to Anne's deck.

"Now, I'm going to return the favor. Raiza, attack her directly!" Raiza hit Anne with a strong gust of wind that pushed her back a few feet, though it didn't seem to bother her much.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn."

(1600-1600)

"What I mean is... Everyone loves the Blue-Eyes White Dragon because of its power. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon doesn't have this power, even though it is strong. Unlike the Blue-Eyes, the Red-Eyes was granted potential. It has the ability to grow bigger, stronger, better, and faster. The Blue-Eyes is stuck with its power, without a way to get better. It has reached its limit..."

"So I have potential?" Zeke asked, though it was directed more at himself than her.

"I'll set two cards on the field, and summon my last Masked Dragon to the field." Another Masked Dragon appeared on the field. (1400/1200)

"I end my turn."

(1600-1600)

Zeke looked at the field. So far, they were even. The only problem he'd have is clearing her field of monsters. He looked at his Option Hunter card. _'Might be useful if she manages to destroy my monster...'_

"I'll set a card and have my Raiza attack your Masked Dragon." Raiza created another powerful gust of wind, one that caused the dragon to shatter under its power.

"I use my Dragon's effect to summon Armed Dragon LV3 to the field." she said. A younger version of Armed Dragon LV5 appeared on the field. This one was orange and much smaller. (1200/900)

"I end my turn."

(1600-1600)

"I activate my Armed Dragon's effect, allowing me to sacrifice him to special summon Armed Dragon LV5 to the field during my standby phase." Armed Dragon LV3 glowed with a red aura and grew in size, becoming Armed Dragon LV5.

"Now, I'll activate the spell card, Level Up! This allows me to sacrifice my monster and summon an even stronger version of itself."

"No way! I activate the trap card, Magic Jammer! By discarding the Roc from the Valley of Haze in my hand, I can negate the activation of that card and destroy it!" he replied.

"Sorry, but I activate my own counter trap, Seven Tools of the Bandit. By paying 1000 Life Points, I can negate and destroy your trap!" As the chain began to resolve, Seven Tools of the Bandit destroyed Magic Jammer, allowing Level Up to continue with its effect.

"Well, at least the effect of my Roc from the Valley of Haze will cause it to return to my deck." he murmured.

Then, Armed Dragon glowed as its absorbed the energy from the spell card, growing in both size and power. It had become Armed Dragon LV7, its second strongest form. (2800/1000)

"See what I mean? Just like Red-Eyes, you have a lot of potential, but like the Blue-Eyes, you are stuck. You need to evolve. You cannot get stronger unless you surpass your own limits, and unless you do so, you won't be able to win the war." she told him.

"Now, Armed Dragon, destroy his Raiza!" Armed Dragon threw a punch at Raiza, crushing it completely.

"I activate my Option Hunter trap card, allowing me to regain Life Points equal to the attack of the monster that was destroyed." he said, his trap card revealing itself.

"Well, I'm done with my turn."

(3800-600)

Zeke looked at the field. _'She's got the field advantage, but I have the Life Point advantage. Still, I'm running out of options here... Fortunately, the card I just drew might turn this around...'_

"I activate the spell card, Star Blast! By reducing my Life Points, I can decrease the level of a monster in my hand by 1 for each multiple of 500 Life Points that I spent. Now, I give up 2000 Life Points to decrease the level of a monster in my hand by four, and then I summon it!"

A large golden bird, about as big as Armed Dragon, appeared on the field, radiating a golden aura. (2900/2000)

"Sadly, since I summoned it without a tribute, I can't use its effect. Still, its strong enough to beat your monster. Destroy her Armed Dragon!" Simorgh created a tornado that covered the entire field, but when it dispersed, Armed Dragon was still there, and for the first time in the whole duel, Anne smiled, even if it was only a little.

"I can see that you are getting the message. You have to change and grow to help your friends, and you've just shown that you've got some potential by using that spell card of yours. Tell me, when was the last time you had used it?" she asked.

Zeke stood silent for a moment, looking at his spell card. To be honest, he couldn't even remember when he had last used it.

"Can't remember, huh? It doesn't matter. What really matters is the fact that I used the effect of the Necro Gardna in my graveyard, removing it from play to negate your attack." she explained.

"When did you...?"

"When I used Graceful Charity." she said.

"Hm... In that case, this turn is done."

(1800-600)

"Actually... This whole duel is done." she said as she drew a card.

"I sacrifice my Armed Dragon LV7 to special summon my Armed Dragon LV10!" Armed Dragon glowed with energy, once again growing in size and power. (3000/2000)

"Now I activate his effect, allowing me to send a card from my hand to the graveyard to destroy all monsters on your field!" She discarded the card in her hand, which caused Armed Dragon to fire a barrage of energy blades that tore through Simorgh and ripped it to shreds.

"Now, Armed Dragon will attack directly!" Armed Dragon punched Zeke, reducing his Life Points to zero.

The monsters faded away as Anne walked over to the group. "Remember the lessons we've taught you. If you want to win this war, then you'll need to use them." As soon as she said this, the dim lighting of the tent went away, replaced by total darkness.

* * *

The group opened their eyes, finding themselves outside their apartment building. As Casey and Blake got up, Zeke checked his watch wondering why it was so dark outside.

"Its... 9 pm..." he murmured, though it was loud enough for Casey and Blake to hear.

"Woah, really?" asked Blake. "I guess we'd better go inside then. If you guys want, I can go and cook something up for us to eat, cause I'm starving!" he exclaimed, laughing as he ran into the building to the apartment, ahead of the others.

As Casey and Zeke walked to the entrance, Casey stopped for a moment.

"Something wrong?" he wondered.

"Zeke..." she said in a low voice. "I want to know if what Faye said is true..."

"What she said about Matsu?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah..."

"Well... if you really want to know, then I can try and hack into the Security Database and get some information."

"Thanks..." she said, entering the building.

Zeke sighed. _'I'll do it if you really want to know that much, but I'm kind of afraid to know myself...'_ he thought as he followed her inside.

**End of Chapter 12.

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_As Casey, Blake, and Zeke were dealing with the Fates, Akira was in Egypt, trying to find out where it was that he had to go. There, he'll meet an unexpected opponent, who is determined to stop him from getting the power that the Egyptian Gods have offered him. Stay alert for: Illegal Intervention! _


	13. Chapter 13: Illegal Intervention

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Across The Line by Linkin Park_

A/N: Sorry for the late update. This chapter had actually been done a long time ago, but I wasn't satisfied with it. Though I've been busy, I've been able to rewrite this chapter in my spare time. Hope you like it.

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**Chapter 13: Illegal Intervention!**

It had already been four days since Akira had left for Egypt. He had a lot of traveling to do, and the sooner he started, the better. After all, he wanted to get back to his friends already.

After his plane landed in Cairo, he was able to find a tour guide that could help him around. The reality of it was that, having found out some time after having met him, the tour guide was actually being controlled by one of the messengers of the Olympian Gods who was told to point out the way. Fortunately for Akira, the tour guide had prepared everything ahead of time, knowing how bad the trip was going to be.

At the moment, Akira was on a camel, following Evander, the Tour Guide

Though it was a hot day, and the linen robe that he was forced to wear was uncomfortable, he knew that things could be worse. Right now, he was speaking to Zeke on his phone, glad that there was something that could distract him from the weather, even if it was only for a while.

"Really?" he asked.

_"Yeah. I looked up some information over the past couple of days. The data and the police confirm it. Matsu died almost a year ago."_

Akira was silent for a moment. "That explains why they wouldn't let us see him..." He paused. "How's she taking it?"

_"Not so good. She hasn't left her room since I told her, and refuses to open the door. Had to tell her everything, though."_

"Everything? You mean what would happen to him after the trial, right?"

_"Yeah, though she says she barely remembers that day. Of course, now I can't help but feel that telling her that just made things worse."_

"Don't be too hard on yourself. She would have probably been just as devastated. Besides, at least this way, its not like there's any more secrets for her to worry about..." he stated.

_"True, but still. I just wish she'd come out of her room. Trust me, seeing a depressed Blake all the time hasn't been very helpful to me. At least with her sulking around the house, I'd be happy with the change in picture."_

Akira chuckled. "Well, hopefully you won't have to worry much about that for a while. We should be reaching the Kul Elna ruins in a few hours, so from there, its just a matter of finding the cards then taking this long trip back."

_"You always were bad at finding things..." _replied Zeke, laughing.

"Yeah well..." he said, trailing off. "Anyways, anything else going on there?"

_"Actually, yeah. I found out that Kaiser was sent to the Aguerris Center at around the same as Matsu. From what I gather, they knew each other. At least, that's what the police reports mention when they interviewed him after Matsu's death."_

"He was murdered?"

_"Yeah. Well, that's what they think. However, there is no medical report. So, no one knows the cause of death. Of course, knowing that place, he probably _was_ killed."_

"Good point..." he murmured.

_"Anyways, Kaiser is still missing, but I bet if we manage to find him, he might be able to tell us what happened."_

"Sounds good. Have any idea where to start looking?"

_"Not really. But then again... With these two here, I don't think I can leave."_

"Well, just hold on. Once I return, I can help you out."

_"By then, I probably won't be needing any help." _he commented, laughing.

"Yeah, yeah... What else?" he asked.

_"Nothing more, really. I'll call you when something else happens." _he said, hanging up the phone.

"Alright..." replied Akira, putting his phone in his backpack. "Doesn't anyone ever say goodbye anymore..." he wondered.

_'Wow... All this time we've been trying to raise the money to pay for his bail, and it turns out he's dead. Still, I wonder why they never told us. A year is too long for them to hide this... Damn Security always keeping secrets... Oh well... Guess we'll have to figure out what happened later. Poor Casey, though... I can't blame her for not wanting to leave her room...' _he thought.

As Akira had said, it would only take him a few more hours to get to the ruins. By then, it was nightfall. Evander had stopped a few yards away. Akira doing the same.

"What happened?" he asked.

"This is where we stop. Those ruins you see are where you are to go. From this point on, you must continue on foot." Evander explained.

"Why on foot?"

"This village was once the home of many evil spirits. Though they were sacrificed to create the legendary Millennium Items, some vengeful spirits still remain. This place is cursed, and I shall not risk my safety. Though I am a messenger of the gods, that doesn't make me all-powerful, or all-knowing. In other words, my power is limited. If you want to get this power that you seek, you must venture for it on your own. I shall be waiting here to guide you back, if you happen to make it out."

Understanding what he said, Akira nodded, getting off the camel and walking to the ruins. Sadly, the wind was already picking up, and would soon prevent him from seeing unless he hurried.

Upon having entered the ruins, a chill went down his spine, almost as if he could feel the dark spirits that lurked here.

_'I'm getting a bad feeling about this...'_ he thought as he walked around.

Not many of the buildings were in good shape, and the ones that were seemed to be completely empty.

"I wonder where I am supposed to go..." he murmured.

"Why don't you try this way?" said a voice.

Akira turned to find the source, only to see someone running into a nearby building. He gave chase, following him down a stairway. The stairway led to some underground ruins, made up of a series of confusing tunnels, each one connected to another, all of the paths illuminated by an unknown source.

The chase lasted almost half an hour, stopping when he found the figure standing before a large stone door, which had the Eye of Wdjat symbol on it. The door opened, with the figure rushing past it. Akira did the same, only to find himself in a small, enclosed room.

The door shut behind him, trapping him and the figure inside as sand began to enter the room from the corners of the ceiling, though it was doing so at a slow pace.

"Who are you?" Akira asked.

The man faced Akira, lowering his hood to reveal his short, spiky black hair, along with the two scars on his face, wearing a black robe that covered most of his body.

Upon having seen the mysterious man's face, Akira quickly became surprised, yet he was cautious, knowing that seeing him here was not merely a coincidence. "Kaiser..." he said, a bit of disbelief in his voice. "Last I saw you, you were lying on a hospital bed due to having suffered critical injuries."

"Well, what can I say?" Kaiser replied. "I heal fast..."

"Really? So fast that you are able to run from Security about five minutes later?" he wondered.

"Ah, you saw that? Well, if Security was after me, you couldn't just expect me to sit there and let them get me, now do you?" he asked.

"Why they were after you is one of the things I really want to know. Well, that, and I want to know what's going on." stated Akira. "However, what I want to know the most is why you are here."

Kaiser laughed. "Want to find out? Then duel me. If you win, you'll know everything. If you lose... Well, you'll see soon enough."

"Pretty sure of yourself, huh? Alright then, I'll take you up on that offer. Don't think I can't beat that Alchemist deck of yours!" Akira stated, lifting up his duel disk and activating it.

Kaiser raised his arm, revealing his metallic black duel disk with a silver outline. "Heh. Always so sure of yourself! Due to that, you'll face the power of my true deck!"

_'True deck? But he almost beat us in the WRGP with that Alchemist deck! Is he saying that he's got an even stronger deck?' _Akira wondered, feeling a bit of doubt deep inside.

(4000-4000)

Akira drew his hand the fastest, granting him the first turn. He drew a card and quickly scanned his hand. He held Oozaki, Blast Magician, Sage of Silence, Skilled Dark Magician, Spellbinding Circle, and Magician's Circle.

"I'll start by setting one card on the field..." Spellbinding Circle appeared face-down on the field. "Next, I'll summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" A young, yet powerful, spellcaster appeared on the field. He was dressed in dark royal robes, and was wielding a metal staff glowing with dark magic. Upon close inspection, one would think that it was a younger version of the famous Dark Magician. (1900/1700)

"To move this along, I'll activate the spell card, Oozaki! This hits you with 800 points of damage!" The card glowed and shot out four fireballs that hit Kaiser directly.

"This also activates my monster's effect, granting him a spell counter." he stated, the orb on the top of the spellcaster's staff beginning to glow.

"I end my turn."

(4000-3200)

As Kaiser began to draw and examine his hand, Akira spoke up. "What is going on, anyways? What are you doing here, and what are you talking about? Do you have another deck?" he asked.

"Alright. I'll explain this to you. Now, I'll assume that the reason why you think I'm here is because I'm one of the Titans, am I right?"

"Yeah, you are."

"Good. You are on the right track. The main reason why I'm here is because you are about to receive a power that can turn the tide of this war. Therefore, I'm here to stop you."

"So you guys are scared of losing this war, huh?"

"Not at all. We are sure we'll win, but there's nothing wrong with having a backup plan. The faster we can eliminate you, the better."

"Heh. And here I thought you guys wanted to play fair... Attacking your opponent before the war begins is dirty and underhanded!" Akira stated, clenching his fist.

"True, but you see... The war has already begun. And do remember that all is fair in love and war."

"That's just a bunch of bullshit! You guys are playing dirty, and I will not stand for that!"

"Say what you will. Just be glad that I can't use the full strength of my deck due to having confronted you _before_ you got the power of the Egyptian Gods. Don't think its not strong enough to defeat you, though." he said with a dark smile on his face.

"You sound too damn confident. I can't wait to wipe that smile off your face!"

"The power of the Titans is much larger than you think, and you're about to experience a fraction of it firsthand! Its my turn, and I'll start by summoning Blizzed, Defender of the Ice Barrier in defense mode!" A small artic bird, with blue feathers and a cold mist surrounding it, appeared on the field. It wore dark blue armor around its chest and head, but it still seemed weak. (300/500)

"Now, I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000-3200)

Akira drew his next card, Thousand Knives. _'Hm... Good card, but I can't use it yet...'_

"I summon Blast Magician in attack mode!" A spellcaster dressed in robes similar to the ones used by Dark Magician, though these were red, appeared on the field. He was wielding a two-handed scythe. (1400/1700)

"Blast Magician, attack Blizzed!" The spellcaster swung down his scythe, firing a blade of fire that cut through Blizzed, destroying it.

"When Blizzed is destroyed, I'm allowed to draw a card from the top of my deck." Kaiser said.

"Hope it helps you a lot, cause now my Skilled Dark Magician will attack you directly!" The second spellcaster focused energy into his staff, firing an orb of dark magic at Kaiser. The attack hit him directly, but he seemed unfazed.

"I end my turn."

(4000-1300)

Kaiser drew a card and looked at Akira's field. "You've done good so far, but it stops here. I summon Mother Grizzly in attack mode!" A large, greyish-blue grizzly bear appeared on the field, ready to rip its target to shreds. (1400/1000)

"Mother Grizzly, attack his Blast Magician!" The bear jumped at the spellcaster, stabbing its claws through his body. However, the spellcaster was able to counter, cutting the bear in half with his scythe. This caused both monsters to be destroyed.

Normally, one would wonder why he willingly sacrificed his monster, but Akira knew Mother Grizzly's effect very well, and knew that this was his way of evening up the field.

"Thanks to her effect, I get to summon another Mother Grizzly to my field." he said, causing another one to appear where the previous one was, though this one was curled up into a ball.

"Next, I'll activate the spell card, Double Summon! With this, I can normal summon another monster this turn. So I summon... Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier in defense mode!" A young spellcaster, with long white hair, appeared on the field. (1200/2000)

"That causes my Skilled Dark Magician to gain another spell counter." said Akira, an orb of dark magic appearing next to the spellcaster.

"That's it for my turn."

(4000-1300)

Just Desserts. That was the card he drew. _'Heh. Kind of ironic... Still, he still doesn't have that many monsters on the field. If I can inflict enough damage this turn, I can use it on the next turn and win this!'_

"I'll set a card on the field," He placed Just Desserts on the disk. "and summon Sage of Silence in attack mode!" A female spellcaster, dressed in light yellow robes appeared on the field, her clothing style and staff giving the impression that she was from the Middle East, though from a much earlier time. (1400/1000)

"Now, attack Mother Grizzly!" The spellcaster focused her energy into her wand, and shot an energy orb at Mother Grizzly, destroying it.

This time, instead of another Mother Grizzly appearing, a man in old-style robes appeared on the field, wielding an ice blade. (1300/0)

"Heh. What a waste! Skilled Dark Magician, attack!" The spellcaster prepared to attack, but as he began to focus, shards of ice began to grow on him freezing up most of his body and preventing him from attacking.

"As long as there's another 'Ice Barrier' monster on my field, Crymancer of the Ice Barrier prevents all level four or higher monsters from attacking!" Kaiser exclaimed.

"Damn it... I guess that's it for my turn... Good thing Sage's effect will stop you from activating spell cards during your turn, though."

(4000-1300)

"I guess that means that I have to get rid of that sage, then...

"I start by tuning together Cryomancer and Spellbreaker!" Cryomancer turned into two green rings that floated around Spellbreaker, who quickly dissolved into four stars.

_"The blistering blizzard inside my heart is unleashed! Hear my hatred roar with rage! Synchro Summon! Break free, Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier!"_

A large tiger, with blue fur and dark blue armor covered in ice, appeared on the field. Its roar was powerful, forcing his existence to be acknowledged by everyone. (2000/1400)

"Now, I'll set a card, and have Dewloren attack your sage!" Just as he commanded, the tiger charged forward, tearing through to small spellcaster with ease.

"Your move."

(3400-1300)

_'Damn... He summoned a strong monster. Still, I've got the advantage. I don't know what that monster does, but a level six monster with such low attack points shouldn't be ignored. I need to take it out quickly.'_

Akira looked at the card he just drew. Arcane Apprentice. _'Damn... I can stall for a bit with Spellbinding Circle, but if I don't strengthen my field, I'll be done for...'_

"I summon, Arcane Apprentice." A small, short, spellcaster appeared on the field, holding a small staff. (1000/400)

"Next, I'll tune him to Skilled Dark Magician!" The small spellcaster became two glowing green rings, which floated around Skilled Dark Magician, who quickly dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Let the elementalist reign supreme! The power of the skies is in my hand! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Tempest Magician!"_

A female spellcaster, who seemed to have much experience in dealing and using magic, appeared on the field, wielding a large scythe. (2200/1400)

A small orb made of air floated next to her. "When she's summoned, she gets a spell counter. Now, her second effect is activated. Once per turn, I can discard any number of cards from my hand to give her an additional counter for each card discarded."

He tossed away Thousand Knives and Magician's Circle, causing two more orbs to appear around Tempest Magician.

"Tell me, Kaiser. Here you are, about to be defeated. I just want to know... Why are you doing this? Why are you with the Titans?" Akira asked him.

"I'll tell you, but first, I'm sure there's something else that you want to know. Is there _another _question that you seek to have answered?"

"Actually, yes. My friend Zeke said you were in the Aguerris Center. Did you know what happened to our friend Matsu? Anything at all?"

This question caused an evil smile to take over Kaiser's face, his eyes empty, completely devoid of life.

"Why... Yes. I'll answer your question with a little story..." he started to say, his voice low.

He shook his head briefly, his face becoming serious again. Once again, he began speaking. "There once was a boy named Matsu. It was his third month in the Aguerris Center. He had been transferred there after a crucial witness failed to show up at his trial. Unable to clear his name of these crimes, he was left there to _rot_ alone..."

Akira glared at him briefly as he heard him put an emphasis on that word. _'He makes it sound like we abandoned him...'_

"By his third month, he had begun to go through all the five stages. First, grief and isolation. He stayed in that dark corner in his cell, wouldn't speak, wouldn't eat... No one had visited him during his stay. He felt truly abandoned."

_'We weren't allowed to see him! Security stopped us every time!' _thought Akira.

"Then came the anger. He punched the walls furiously, feeling betrayed and feeling hatred towards all those that left him in there. Hands covered in his own blood, numb and weak. He soon gave up on this, and switched to bargaining. He cried, begged, and pleaded to whatever he could, wanting to be free of this curse he had inflicted upon himself. After having begged for long, his cries were answered.

"The Titans heard him, and felt his pain. They two were abandoned by their own people, and had been left to rot alone for all eternity. The Titans offered him a choice. Serve them, and have a chance to get that old life once more. Hell, he could have gotten his revenge if he felt strongly enough about it. They would give him the chance, no matter what..."

"He would never do that! Matsu knew we would try and get him out of there! He would reject that offer at the mere mention of it!" Akira stated.

"And reject it, he did. He refused to take their offer, and instead, just fell into depression. It was then that Kaiser stepped into the scene. The Titans spoke to him instead, and offered to give him whatever he wanted. Kaiser thought about it, and eventually agreed. Then, came the problem..."

"The problem?" wondered Akira.

"They told Kaiser how he'd be the King! How he would rule this planet, and make it as he sees fit! How he could gain unlimited power, and how he could use it to make all of his wildest dreams come true! But! Oh... but, Matsu. Matsu was the only one that could stop him. So it was down this. The next move would decide the fate of this 'Future King'. Matsu, who was too caught up in his guild and depression, was now vulnerable! Now was the time to strike! And so he did. Kaiser killed him, ensuring his position as the King!"

Akira had had enough. He couldn't listen to any of this. It was too much. "You bastard! You killed him! All for power! You don't deserve to be king! I'll take you down! Right here... Right now!" He pointed at Tempest Magician in anger, causing the counters that were floating around her to glow.

"This is the end! I use Tempest's third and final effect! By removing the spell counters, You'll take 500 points of damage for each one!"

The orbs around Tempest Magician formed a triangle, each side outlined with crackling electricity. "Take him down!" The orbs glowed with a powerful and blinding light, firing a powerful ray of energy at Kaiser.

A loud scream was heard, and the result was not what he expected at all.

Right now, Akira was glad that this wasn't a Shadow Game. His attack had completely backfired, striking him instead. If he had felt that as he would in a Shadow Game, he probably wouldn't even be able to get up.

"What... Happened?" Akira struggled to say, the phantom pain from the Duel Disks fully setting in.

Kaiser pointed to the activated quickplay spell card on his field. "Its called 'Spell of Pain'. When my opponent uses a card effect to inflict effect damage on me, I can use this card to send it right back at him..."

"Damn you..." cursed Akira. "You knew I would do that, didn't you?"

"I told you back at the hospital... All my opponents have been defeated because I knew their decks better than they did." Kaiser explained. "I already knew your deck focused on effect damage as well as regular damage, so I put this card in here just in case..."

Akira glared at him. "In which case... I'll just have my Tempest Magician attack your monster!"

Tempest Magician cut the tiger in two with her scythe, destroying it in an instant.

"I end my turn."

(1900-1100)

Kaiser drew a card. "You've done well, but this is where I must put this to an end. I'll start by special summoning Fenrir, in attack mode!" Two cards were ejected from his graveyard slot, and then a large blue werewolf appeared on the field, ready to attack at any moment. (1400/1200)

"Now, I'll remove from play two more Water attribute monsters from my graveyard to summon another!" Another Fenrir appeared right next to the first, just as bloodthirsty as its partner.

Akira's trap card revealed itself. "I activate the trap card, Just Desserts! This hits you with 500 points of damage for every monster on your field!"

The trap card shot out a fireball at Kaiser, hitting him directly, yet he was relatively unharmed.

"Prepare to see just how powerful this deck is! I'll remove these two from play to special summon another monster!" The two werewolves exploded, becoming a tornado of water that swirled fiercely. It soon faded away, revealing a powerful spellcaster dressed in blue robes. It was an elementalist, a master of water and all its forms. (2500/2000)

"Meet, Ice Master! He represents my power! How I've taken all the hate, the loneliness, the isolation! How I've taken it all and turned it into a weapon of destruction!"

"Heh. Seems like a waste. That monster's not that strong, and he's a level eight monster! Seems like your hatred hasn't done much for you at all!" Akira said, feeling sure that he would be the victor in this duel.

Kaiser motioned Ice Master to attack. The powerful spellcaster shot an icicle at Tempest Magician. Though she tried her best to block it, the attack was too powerful, and it tore through her.

"Ever hear of a poem called 'A poison tree'?" Kaiser asked.

"No."

"Too bad. If you had, then you would have known that revenge works slowly, but surely... Anyways, its your move."

(1600-100)

Akira looked at his next card. It was Pot of Greed. _'I hope this works...'_

"I activate Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards and looked at them. Dark Magic Curtain, and Ancient Wizard*.

"I activate the spell card, Dark Magic Curtain! At the cost of half my Life Points, I can special summon a Dark Magician from my deck!" The curtains pulled away, revealing a Dark Magician in all his glory. (2500/2100)

"Next, I'll activate the trap card, Spellbinding Circle! This will prevent your monster from attacking and changing his battle position!" Akira said, a large circle hovering over Ice Master, completely immobilizing him.

"Your move."

(800-100)

"I activate the spell card, Card of Demise! This allows me to draw until I have five cards in my hand, but on my 5th standby phase after doing so, I must discard my entire hand. Anyways, let's get on with this. My monster may not be able to attack, but his effect will allow him to place an Ice Counter on a monster once per turn!"

A small snowflake landed on Dark Magician's shoulder, quickly freezing his arm.

"Now, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

(800-100)

Akira looked at the card he had just drawn. Synchro Spirits. _'If I can hold out another turn, I'll be able to use this.'_

"I'll set a card and end my turn." he said.

(800-100)

"Running out of moves already? Too bad. I'll prolong your suffering further by simply skipping my turn." Kaiser stated.

(800-100)

True, Akira found this wierd, but it sure was helpful. He drew a card then activated his trap card.

"I activate, Synchro Spirits! By removing from play the Synchro Monster in my graveyard, I can special summon the monsters I used to summon it!" Arcane Apprentice and Skilled Dark Magician appeared on the field once more.

"Now, prepare to face my strongest monster! I'll sacrifice both of my monsters to summon Ancient Wizard!

Akira smiled when he looked at the card he had just drawn.

The sacrifices created a bright light that blinded everyone. When their visions returned, an old, but immensely powerful, spellcaster stood in their place, wearing white robes. (2600/2500)

"Though he may not be all that strong, he's got enough power to not only destroy your monster, but also take you down with him! Attack!"

The old spellcaster attacked, but it was blocked by an invisible shield. Kaiser's Negate Attack had saved him.

"Damn you... I'll get you next turn!"

(800-100)

"Sorry, but there won't be a next turn..." Kaiser stated coldly. "This ends now. I'll start by summoning Cold Enchanter in attack mode!"

A younger version of Ice Master appeared next to him, ready to battle. (1600/1200)

Then, an snowflake landed on Ancient Wizard's shoulder, freezing up his arm. "Another Ice Counter has plagued your side of the field, and now, this is where you'll see the true power of my monster!"

Ice Master stabbed his staff into the ground, releasing large spikes made of ice that impaled him and his opponents. "Didn't you think it was strange that a level eight monster had such low attack points? His effect is what makes him deadly. By sacrificing him... I can destroy all monsters on the field with an Ice Counter!"

Akira's eyes widened in shock as the ice around them shattered, leaving the field clear of monsters except for Cold Enchanter.

"You end has come. Cold Enchanter, attack him directly!" The young spellcaster fired an icicle at Akira, knocking him back as his Life Points went down to zero.

The holograms disappeared, and Akira attempted to regain his senses.

Click!

Upon hearing that noise, he quickly looked for the source. To his surprise, he saw Kaiser standing a few feet away from him, holding a 9mm Luger in his hand. Fear had taken over his entire body, preventing him from moving and escaping.

"What... What do you think you are doing?" Akira managed to cry out.

With a serious face, Kaiser replied: "Don't you remember? All is fair in love and war..."

**End of Chapter 13.

* * *

**

_In the next chapter, we see how the rest of Team Inferno is preparing for their oncoming battles. Though it seems like Casey may be taking the news a little harder than the others, she'll have to find a way to get through it, since the that's the only way she'll be able to finish her next duel! Strike of the Agents is next.

* * *

_

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Ancient Wizard - Monster Card

Type: Spellcaster

Attribute: Light

Level: 8

ATK: 2600

DEF: 2500

Effect: Once per turn, by discarding a level four or higher monster from your hand, you can negate an opponent's attack and end the battle phase.


	14. Chapter 14: Strike of the Agents pt 1

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Whisper by Evanescence

* * *

_

**Chapter 14: Strike of the Agents**

Casey was lying down on her bed. Her pillow was over her face, and the sheets were covering most of her body, like a cocoon. The curtains were almost fully closed, leaving only a small spot from which light could enter the room. The room... was cluttered. Despite there being many things on the floor, and some spilled drinks, the room was still too clean to be called a mess.

Casey's cards lied on top of the desk, scattered over it along with Matsu's cards. She had been looking through them over the past few days, but gave up during the night and just went to bed.

Right now, she was awake, but she didn't feel like getting out of bed. She already felt bad enough about what happened with Matsu, and didn't feel like getting up. She just wanted to lie there and feel guilty, even if it wasn't really her fault.

She was unsure of what to do.

She sat up, looking at the pillow that was now on her lap. _'Matsu... You always go too far for me...'_ she thought, thinking back to when they were smaller, and how he always tried so hard to make her happy.

She remembered how they always had each other's backs when they were growing up. _'Right...'_ she thought. _'He always said we had each other's backs, but he protected me more than I could protect him...'_

She sighed. She always felt like no matter what she did, she could never repay him for what he had done.

"I hate you..." she whispered. "Matsu, I hate you so much for making me feel this way... You made me feel hopeful. You made me feel like having been born in Satellite wouldn't change anything. You made me feel like all of our dreams could come true, and then you went so far as to make them come true. But it was all just a cruel joke to you, wasn't it?" she cried out, tears starting to fall from her cheeks.

"It must have been... Why else would you do that and then leave me here all alone?" She felt heartbroken. The person that was always by her side since she was small had left her that easily. It was like he didn't even fight to be with her. LIke he had stopped caring...

She started to reminisce. She remembered that one time when they were smaller, when they had first met.

They were only six years old, orphans in Satellite...

* * *

She had ventured into the docks, wanting to see the water, as well as Neo Domino. She had always wanted to see it, to see if the rumors were true. People always told her about how great it was in Neo Domino, how nice the people were, how they were rich, and lived unbelievable lives.

She had always fantasized about being able to go there, but all the adults told her how that was impossible. Still, she never stopped dreaming.

Today, she was at the docks, despite all the adults warning her about the dangers. She wanted to see the city. A glimpse of it, at least. That was good enough, wasn't it? There was nothing wrong with letting a dreamer dream.

It had been a long walk to get there, and she was incredibly tired, but it was fine. She could see it. Far off into the distance, she could part of it. The tall buildings that made it stand out, even when viewed from this far away. It was beautiful. She longed to be there. She wanted to be in the place where all her dreams could come true.

Of course, she was here, in Satellite, the graveyard where all dreams went to die.

She smiled after having stared at it for a while, and then she turned around. A young boy, about her age, was digging around the trash, looking for something. She approached him, curious.

The young boy noticed there was someone near him and turned around, seeing her standing there before him. "Hi..." he said.

"Hello there... What are you doing?" she asked him. The young boy looked so innocent, his ruffled orange hair covering part of his face, but letting her see his brown eyes.

"I'm just looking around. If I find anything useful, then that's good." he responded.

"Useful? Like what?" she wondered.

"You know. If its food, then its food. If its machine parts that can be traded or sold, then that. If its a card, then that too."

"Food? So, you don't have anyone to come bring you food, or take care of you?" She found this strange. She lived with Martha, an elderly woman who took good care of all the orphaned kids she met in the Satellite. True, it wasn't the best place to be, but it felt like a home, and that's all she really needed.

"Not really... It just me and a couple of other kids around here. We've been helping each other out for some time. You know, kind of like a family."

She sat down next to him and started shifting through the trash. "I see... Well, if you want I can help you find something to eat. I know this old lady who's really nice, and she'll be glad to help you and your friends eat something..."

"Really? You think she would? Me and my friends are starving..." he said, finding a dirty card among the contents of the trash can.

"What did you find?" she asked.

He cleaned off some of the dirt with his shirt, revealing it to be a Kuriboh. "Oh, how cute!" she exclaimed.

"Maybe... Its not a very good card, but maybe someone will be willing to trade it for some food or something." he muttered.

Casey looked at the card closely. "I don't know. Maybe its better than you think..."

"Yeah, maybe..." he said reluctantly. He looked around. It was starting to get dark. "Its getting late... I need to get back to my friends and see what we can do with this card."

"I need to go too. Don't forget about Martha! If you come back here tomorrow, maybe I can take you to her!"

The boy nodded, and got up. "Oh yeah, my name is Casey. What's yours?" she asked.

"My name's Matsu." the boy said with a big smile.

"It was nice to meet to you. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"It was nice to see you too." He took a few steps forward and then turned to her. "I'll see you tomorrow!" he exclaimed before running off...

* * *

That was how they had met. She remembered that the next day, he did indeed show up. Afterward, Martha offered to take care of him and his friends, and they've never left each other's side since.

She turned her head to the window. The small bit of light that had been able to sneak in was annoying her. It was almost as if it was trying to make her mad, taunting her by revealing how bad things really were in this city.

She started to cry harder. Once again, she started feeling guilty. It had been her dream to come to the city, and her biggest mistake was telling Matsu. Since that day, he had promised her he'd get her there, one way or another. She felt happy whenever he told her that he would, but she never once thought that the cost of getting here would be so much.

If only she had never told him... If she hadn't, they would still be alive, and they would still be by each other's side.

She wiped her tears off with the sheets, trying to dry her face.

She got off the bed and walked over to the desk, looking at the cards that were scattered over it. One in particular caught her eye. It was Educated Student Lv.3. That was not only her favorite card, but her first one as well.

She remembered when she got it, too. It was at her eleventh birthday party. Due to living in the Satellite, a small celebration would be all she could get. Unlike the kids in Neo Domino, she wouldn't receive presents during her birthday. All she would get is a day in which she hung out with the rest of the kids that Martha was taking care of, but that was more than enough for her.

That didn't stop Matsu, though. At the end of the party, he had pulled her aside and had given her that card. She had always said that she loved Warrior-Type monsters cause they were strong, and worked as a team. Like a family.

That's why he had gotten her this card, the one that inspired her to make a deck. If it wasn't for that, she probably wouldn't be dueling now. Of course, that card had its bad memories too.

It wasn't until she was sixteen that she found out how he got her that card. One day, she was looking through his deck and noticed that his favorite card, Hyozanryu, wasn't in it. In fact, it had been a long time since she had ever seen him with it at all. When she asked him about this, he admitted to having sold it a long time ago to get her Educated Student Lv.3.

She picked up all of the cards and made two piles. The first stack of cards would be the ones she would use in her deck, and the second stack would be the one she would set aside, keeping them away from her deck at all times.

In about an hour, she had made a brand new deck, changed out of her dirty clothes and put on some clean ones, and fixed up her hair. She was now wearing a white tank top under her leather jacket, a pair of old jeans with a hole in the right side that revealed her knee, and hair was not in a ponytail. Instead, it was brushed to the sides, allowing one to see her face clearly.

She made sure that the door to her room was firmly locked, took a few yen from the counter next to her bed, and climbed out the window, using the fire escape to climb down to the ground.

She snuck into the garage, being extremely quiet so as not to attract attention. It was dark, but she didn't turn on the lights. No need for anyone to know that she was here. Besides, she didn't need any lights. She knew where her Duel Runner was, and it wasn't too far.

Within minutes, she found it. She put on her helmet and attached her duel disk to the Runner. She carefully pulled it out of the garage through the backdoor. Once outside, she got on it and turned it on, riding into the city.

From the top of the building, three figures watched her closely. "So, that's her?" one of the figures asked. The one standing next to her nodded. "Alright... I wonder how good she really is though..." she said.

"That's up to you to find out." said a deep voice from her right. "You have to test her and see whether she's fit to obtain the power of the Olympian Gods."

"Yes, I know. Aren't you guys going to do the same thing with her friends?" she asked.

"We will." stated the figure to her left. "However, things must be done slowly. You can't test them until its time to do so, and right now, its her time to be tested. I suggest you be on your way..."

The woman sighed, and left in the direction that Casey had gone.

* * *

Casey rode through the city, no actual destination in mind. She thought about the things that had happened so far. This city, the place she had always dreamed of being in, was no longer that magical place she had always expected. So much misfortune had occurred here, for her, and everyone else.

Now she was wondering if this place was really worth it...

It couldn't be helped. There was nothing that could be done to change things. Nothing at all. She hated to admit it, but it was true. Feeling sorry for herself, blaming herself for what happened, it was all a waste of time. So, why couldn't she make herself believe that? She knew it was true, yet her heart still hurt, and her guilt, her sadness, it was all that remained.

She looked around at the tall buildings. They were mocking her, laughing at her and her stupid mistakes. They told her she would never get here, that she shouldn't have even tried. But she had to dream, and that dream cost her a friend, a true friend. Someone who went to great lengths to see her be happy and achieve her dreams.

"You'd probably be mad right now, huh Matsu?" she whispered to herself as she drove through the streets. "You worked so hard to bring me here, and all I've done so far is nothing but curse at myself for what's happened to you. I shouldn't keep moping... It'll probably make you feel even worse, like if you had done all this for nothing."

Before she knew it, she was in front of a large tower. This was the very same tower that Jack Atlas had gone to after having lost the Fortune Cup.

She got off her Runner, disengaging the duel disk and putting it on her arm. She made sure the alarm on the Duel Runner worked, since one couldn't be too careful, and proceeded inside. Her destination was the balcony at the very top of the tower.

Now, at the top of the tower, she could see the water, and at the horizon, she could see some of the bridges that connected Neo Domino and Satellite, as well as some of the buildings that were now a part of a rebuilt Satellite.

"Funny, I come here looking to see things change for the better, and instead, everything gets turned around..."

She thought about it for a moment. Is this why people have said that 'Home is where the heart is'? If it was, then she might actually understand what they meant.

"Irony is Fate's most common figure of speech." said a voice from behind. Casey turned around to see a tall female figure, with long blonde hair, a pair of wings decorated with golden feathers coming out of her back, and golden yellow robes standing before her.

"Fate is just what you call it when you don't know who it is that's screwing you over." she replied.

"Fate doesn't do anything without reason."

Casey shrugged. She didn't really want to talk much right now, so she decided not to try and argue with this woman. In fact, now she wondered who this woman was. "Who are you, anyway?"

The woman walked up to her, and gave her a short bow. "My apologies. I never introduced myself. You may call me Venus. I am a messenger of the Olympian Gods."

"No need to apologize. My name is Casey."

Venus nodded, and looked at her. "It seems like something is bothering you..."

"Its nothing..." Casey stated, not wanting to talk about it.

"It is not. Its obvious its something important to you, otherwise you wouldn't be out here all alone, now would you?"

Casey rolled her eyes. "It sounds like you are stalking me..."

"I wouldn't say I'm stalking you, even if some may see it that way. I am here for a reason."

"And what would that reason be?" Casey wondered.

"This war is going to be tough. Unless you or one of your friends gets the help of one of the Gods, you will not be able to win." she explained.

Casey sighed, and looked at the sea. "This war is horrible... Its just going to put more and more of my friends in danger. I've already lost someone close to me... I don't want to risk losing any more of my friends."

"This war is inevitable. You and your friends are stuck in the middle of it, and that is unfortunate, but there's nothing you can do but fight. If you really want your friends to be safe, then you need to fight to protect them."

"Screw that! I'll find a way to change things. I don't want my friends to get involved in this. They are all I've got left..." she exclaimed.

"Fate doesn't smile upon the lives of those that try to go against it."

Casey was silent for a moment. "You can't possibly be saying that the only thing we can do is fight. That's just not fair."

Venus put her hand on Casey's shoulder. "Just try to think of it this way. If not you, then someone else. That other person would go through the same things as you are going to go through. In the end, there would be people fighting in this war. You don't like this war, so why not make a difference? Why not fight as hard as you can, and end this war on your own terms? Fight and make sure that you and your friends win. Fight for them."

Casey said nothing. Venus was making some sense, but she didn't like it. Even if she could somehow get out of fighting in this war, someone else would take her place. If the fighting would continue with or without her, why not fight? Why not make sure that her friends are safe, and protect them?

"Tell you what," Venus said, breaking the silence. "How about a quick duel?"

"What good will that do?"

"Well, most people seem to think better when they duel, and it might help you feel better. Besides, it might be fun. So, how about it?" she said, smiling as she lifted up her arm and activated her duel disk.

"Sure." Casey replied, activating hers.

(4000-4000)

"I'll take the first turn." stated Venus. "And if you think I'll be going easy on you, you better think twice."

She drew her hand and quickly started her turn. "I'll start by setting one monster on the field and ending my turn."

(4000-4000)

Casey looked at the set card with curiosity as she drew her hand. _'Strange... Who would set one monster and nothing else?' _

She looked at her hand. She currently held Command Knight, Obnoxious Celtic Guard, Mirage Dragon, Reinforcements of the Army, Kunai with Chain, and Freed the Matchless General.

She stared at the Mirage Dragon in her hand. It was one of the cards from Matsu's deck. She had put some in her deck, as a way to remember him no matter where she was.

"I'll set one card on the field, and summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard in attack mode!" With a flash, the powerful and battle-ready version of the famous Celtic Guardian appeared on the field. (1400/1200)

"Attack her monster!" The warrior cut through the shrouded monster easily, whose phantom image appeared just before it was struck.

"You destroyed my Nimble Musasabi! Thanks to its effect, not only do you take 500 points of damage when its destroyed..." A blast of energy from the card shot out and hit Casey directly. "...But I can also summon two more of these monsters to your side of the field." Two of these flying squirrels appeared next to Obnoxious Celtic Guard, irritating him for some reason. (800/100)

Casey looked at the two monsters. _'Damn it... I can't believe I fell for that...'_

"I'll switch them to defense mode and end my turn."

(3500-4000)

Venus drew a card and began her turn.

"I'll set a card on the field, and summon Giant Rat in attack mode!" The monster that appeared was, as its name clearly describes, a large rat that was as tall as a normal human, but a rat nonetheless. (1400/1450)

"Attack her Celtic Guard!" The two monsters battled, killing each other off, but another Giant Rat appeared on Venus' field soon after the first one had gone.

"Thanks to the effect of Giant Rat, when its destroyed by battle, I can special summon an Earth attribute monster to my field with 1500 attack points or less, like another Giant Rat." she said.

"Next, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

(3500-4000)

Casey looked at the card she had just drawn. It was Field-Commander Rahz.

_'I wonder what kind of deck she uses. So far, I know it is probably a Beast deck, but that's not enough to figure out the main strategy of her deck.'_

"I'll start by sacrificing-" She stopped short. Neither of the Nimble Musasabi on her field would disappear.

"Sorry, but you can't use those monsters for a tribute summon." Venus explained.

Casey looked at the two creatures for a moment. _'Okay. So far, I can tell her deck probably revolves around swarming my field with weak monsters for her to take down...'_ she assumed.

"I activate the spell card, Reinforcement of the Army! With this, I can take a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck and add it to my hand."

A card slid out from her deck. She took it, adding Marauding Captain to her hand.

"I'll summon Field-Commander Rahz in attack mode!" A warrior, looking to be in his 30's, appeared on the field, wearing battle-torn armor and wielding dual swords. (1600/1200)

"Now, his effect activates, allowing me to take a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck and put it on top. Next, I'll switch the Nimble Musasabi to defense mode, and have Rahz attack your Giant Rat!" Rahz tore the large beast in half, effectively destroying it.

"His effect activates, allowing me to summon Rescue Cat to the field." A small white cat, wearing an orange helmet, appeared on the field. (300/100)

"Next, since a Beast-Type monster was destroyed and sent to my graveyard, I can special summon Green Baboon, Defender of the Forest from my hand by giving up 1000 Life Points!" A portal opened, and from it, a large green baboon walked out, wearing armor and wielding a large wooden club. (2600/1800)

Casey looked at the large beast with amazement. It seems that her previous instinct was right. Venus was somehow going to use the Musasabi she summoned to her field to slowly tear away at her Life Points. _'Good thing they're in defense mode...'_

"I end my turn."

(3500-2800)

Venus drew her next card. "You know, people often take for granted the power of low-level monsters. In fact, if it wasn't for the appearance of Synchro monsters, they would still be ignored to this very day. This deck of mine focuses on showing the power of these weak monsters and how strong they really are."

Casey raised an eyebrow. "That Green Baboon doesn't look all that weak to me..."

"True, but that's all part of the plan. Now, I'll activate the effect of my Rescue Cat, allowing me to special summon two level three or lower monsters from my deck to the field by sending it to the graveyard." Rescue Cat disappeared from the field, and two small beasts, looking almost like abnormally large cats appeared next to Green Baboon. Each one had a small purple orb on their forehead, which glowed with an eerie purple light. (300/250)

"Milus Radiant is a monster that increases the attack points of all Earth attribute monsters on the field by 500 points, and with two on the field, that's a 1000 point boost!"

Both Milus Radiant glowed, their attack points going up to 1300 each. Green Baboon flexed its muscles as its attack points rose to 3600. Field-Commander Rahz chuckled as its attack points became 2600. Meanwhile, the Nimble Musasabi's attack points became 1800.

"You see? These guys were considered weak and worthless, but just look at how strong they can truly be."

"Yeah, but your monsters made my warrior stronger too!" Casey replied.

"I know, but that's hardly a problem. Since I haven't normal summoned this turn, I'll use it to summon Sea Koala, in defense mode." Another monster appeared on the field. This one looked like a normal koala, except it had a beaver tail. (100/1600)-(1100/1600)

"Thanks to this him, as long as I control another Beast-Type monster, then once per turn, I can reduce the attack points of one of your monsters to zero!" She pointed at Field-Commander Rahz, who fell to his knees as his attack points were reduced to nothing.

"Now Green Baboon can attack your monster, and finish you off!" Green Baboon lifted up his club, and as he was about to attack, he was held back by a chained kunai and forced into defense mode.

"What happened?"

Casey pointed to her trap card, Kunai with Chain. "This card has two effects, though only one can be used. Its first effect allows me to change the battle position of an attacking monster, which is the one I used on your Green Baboon."

"I'm impressed. Now my Milus Radiant can attack your Nimble Musasabi, causing you to lose 500 points for each one destroyed." The two small beasts pounced on the Musasabi, destroying the two squirrels with ease.

"Anyways, I end my turn, and Rescue Cat's effect destroys the Milus Radiant that were summoned through its effect." Both Milus Radiant exploded, causing the attack points of all the Earth monsters on the field to return to normal.

(2500-2800)

Casey drew the monster she added to her hand with Rahz's effect. It was Educated Student Lv.3.

_'Okay. Now I've just got to strengthen my field to avoid what she did on her last turn. I could switch my monsters to defense mode, but that wouldn't buy me too much time. However, if I attack and she stops it, I'll be left wide open for her to repeat her last move and beat me...'_

"I'll summon Marauding Captain in defense mode!" Marauding Captain appeared on the field with a flash, wielding his dual swords. (1200/400)

"His effect allows me to special summon a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my hand, like Command Knight!" Command Knight appeared next to Marauding Captain, defending herself with her sword. (1200/1900)

"Now, her effect activates, raising the attack points of all Warrior-Type monsters on the field by 400 points."

The warriors glowed as their attack points went up. Marauding Captain's attack points became 1600, as did Command Knight's. Meanwhile, Rahz's attack points had risen to 2000.

"Rahz, attack Green Baboon!" Rahz charged at the large ape, but a trap card activated, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"I activate the trap card Beast Soul Swap! This allows me to take a Beast-Type monster from my field and add him back to my hand, and then special summon a Beast-Type monster from my hand that's the same level as the one I added to my hand. Meaning, I can special summon the Green Baboon that I just added to my hand with this card's effect!"

Green Baboon appeared once again, angrier than ever. This time, however, he was in attack mode, able to crush Rahz with ease. (2600/1800)

"Since the number of monsters on your field changed, it triggers a replay, so I can switch my attack to your Sea Koala." Rahz changed his target, cutting the aquatic beast in half.

"Alright. I end my turn now."

(2500-2800)

Venus began her turn.

"I know Marauding Captain's effect very well. He won't allow me to attack another monster except him. So, I'll just set two cards, and have Green Baboon get rid of him!"

Green Baboon crushed Marauding Captain with his large club, easily eliminating him.

"I'll end my turn."

(2500-2800)

Casey drew another card. It was Stamping Destruction. She looked at it and the Mirage Dragon in her hand. _'This could work... But I'd need to figure out when to use it...'_

"I'll sacrifice Field-Commander Rahz, and summon Freed the Matchless General in attack mode!" In an instant, Rahz disappeared from the field, replaced by the legendary Freed. (2300/1700)-(2700/1700)

"And he's strong enough to take down your Green Baboon! Attack!"

Freed charged at the large green beast, slicing him in half with his sword.

"I end my turn."

(2500-2700)

"Not bad." commented Venus.

"All I will do is set one monster on the field, and end my turn."

(2500-2700)

Casey looked at the card she drew. It was Future Fusion, another one of Matsu's cards.

She wondered what to do. Should she activate it? After all, she did have the advantage, but would that be true two turns from now?

She shook her head.

_'No. I can't keep relying on everyone else's strength. Not if I want to protect them. First, I'll go as far as I can with my own strength!'_

"I summon Educated Student Lv.3 in attack mode!" The monster that had been the main part of her deck for so long appeared again, wielding his spellbook. (1500/100)-(1900/100)

"Now, attack her monster!" The young warrior opened his spellbook, pulling out a chained kunai and throwing it at the monster. Just before it was cut in half, the phantom image of the beast revealed it to be Nimble Momonga.

"When Nimble Momonga is destroyed by battle, I get 1000 Life Points, and I also get to set two more beasts on my field."

Then, without warning, Green Baboon appeared on the field again. "And since a Beast-Type monster was destroyed, I can pay 1000 Life Points to special summon my Green Baboon from my graveyard."

"Too bad its still as weak as last time. Freed, destroy that thing again!"

Once again, Freed charged at the large baboon, but this time the large baboon not only managed to stop the attack, he countered, crushing Freed with his large wooden club.

"What happened?"

"I activated the quickplay spell, The Big March of Animals, giving my Beast-Type monsters 200 extra attack points for every Beast-Type monster on my field. Meaning that my Green Baboon was strong enough to take down your warrior." Venus explained.

"I end my turn, then."

(2400-2700)

"As you can see, I now have the field advantage. Green Baboon, destroy her Educated Student!"

As soon as Green Baboon raised his club to attack, a light shone from the warrior's spellbook.

"I activate his effect. During either of our battle phases, I can send him to the graveyard to special summon Educated Student Lv. 5 from my deck!"

The spellbook stopped shining, and an older version of the warrior stood where the previous one was. (2200/1500)-(2600/1500)

"And thanks to Command Knight's boost, he's just as strong as your Green Baboon!"

"It sure seems that way. So, I'll summon Tree Otter in defense mode!" A beast that was basically a koala with an otter's face appeared on the field. (1200/100)

"If I control another Beast-Type monster on my field, I can have one of the monsters I control gain 1000 more attack points until the end of this turn." Green Baboon roared as its attack points rose to 3600.

"Green Baboon, destroy her warrior!" Green Baboon crushed the young warrior with ease, crippling Casey's defenses.

"Your move."

(1400-2700)

Casey wondered what to do next. It seemed like every time she was able to take down that huge beast, it would just come back, or somehow overpower her.

"I activate the spell card, Educated Draw. I can pick up the top six cards of my deck, add three of them to my hand, and remove the other three from play."

She looked at the cards she picked up. Burst Breath, Ready for Intercepting, Board of Education, The Dragon's Bead, Advanced Spellbook, and United We Stand.

She took the first three and added them to her hand, then pocketed the other three.

_'Okay. So far, I know she'll summon Green Baboon if its destroyed by having me destroy one of her other monsters. However, she's been very intent on keeping that thing alive, so that must mean its her strongest monster. All of the other monsters in her deck must be there to either keep it alive, or boost its attack to take down any monster that's stronger than it. So, if I can get her to use up all her attack boosts, I may be able to take her down. Still, I'll need to lure her in so I can do that...'_

"I'll start by setting a card on the field, and switching Command Knight to attack mode!" Command Knight stood up and gripped her sword tightly. (1600/1900)

"Command Knight, attack Tree Otter!" Command Knight jumped high into the air, cutting the small beast in half as she landed before it.

"Now, I'll activate Future Fusion. By sending the monsters listed on a Fusion-Monster card to the graveyard, I can special summon that monster in two turns." she said, taking three cards from her deck and putting them in the graveyard.

"I end my turn."

(1400-2700)

"You sure are persistent." Venus said.

"I could say the same about you." Casey replied.

Venus smiled. "You know, I'm actually having a lot of fun. I haven't had a duel like this in a _very_ long time. Are you having fun too?"

Casey thought about it. In a way, she _was_ having fun. It had been a while since she had a duel like this that didn't have an ulterior motive to it. It was just to have fun. "Yeah. I really am." she said, not even noticing the smile that was now on her face.

"Now, I'll summon another Sea Koala in defense mode." Another Sea Koala appeared next to Green Baboon, lying down on the ground as if it were sleeping. (100/1600)

"Using his effect, I'll reduce your Command Knight's attack points to zero, and have Green Baboon finish you off!" Green Baboon swung his club down with all his strength, crushing Command Knight under its immense power.

However, Green Baboon remained on the field. "Wait, the duel is supposed to be over. Why are the holograms still working?" Venus asked.

"Because I activated my trap card, Ready for Intercepting. It allows me to take a Warrior-Type or Spellcaster-Type monster on the field and flip him into face-down defense position. Since I used it on Command Knight, your Green Baboon killed her while she was in defense mode. Meaning, my Life Points are safe." Casey explained.

"I see. That was very clever. You won't be so lucky next turn, though."

(1400-2700)

_'Yeah, it seems so. At this rate, I'll be beaten before I can summon Spike Dragon...'_

She wondered what else she could do. She had to survive this next turn, but it seemed like a long shot. After all, if she went on the defensive, she couldn't trick Venus into using up what was left of her attack boosts. Then again, if she wasn't able to survive this next turn, none of that would matter.

"I'll set a card on the field, and summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode!"

A large yellow dragon, which could barely be seen, appeared on the field, its strange glowing being the only thing that allowed you to know it was there. (1600/600)

"Destroy her Sea Koala!" The dragon wrapped its long body around the small beast, slowly squeezing the life out of it like a boa constrictor would do to its victim.

"I end my turn."

(1400-2700)

"I'll start by activating the Field spell, Gaia Power! This will give all my Earth attribute monsters an extra 500 attack points, at the cost of 400 defense points." The field suddenly changed into a jungle, with a large tree standing tall and proud behind Venus.

Green Baboon roared as his attack points rose to 3100.

"Next, I'll summon another Milus Radiant, which will increase his attack points by another 500 points." Another Milus Radiant appeared on the field, glowing as its effect activated. (300/100)-(1300/0)

Green Baboon roared once more as his attack points became 3600.

"Green Baboon, destroy Mirage Dragon!"

Green Baboon tried to crush Mirage Dragon, but an invisible barrier blocked the attack.

"Draining Shield? Not bad. Very well. I suppose that's it for my turn."

(5000-2700)

Casey sighed. It had worked. Now she could fight back.

With a loud and powerful roar, a large dragon appeared behind her. It was a creature whose skin was a light blue color. Its wings were large, and it had massive spikes running down its head, through its back and to its tail. Its claws were massive and could pretty much crush anything in its path. (3900/1000)

"Since its been two turns since I activated Future Fusion, I am able to summon Spike Dragon. Not only is he strong enough to take down that over-sized ape of yours, but his effect allows him to gain 200 attack points for every Drill Dragon in my graveyard!"

The dragon let out a mighty roar as its attack points rose to 4500.

"Attack her Green Baboon!" The dragon attacked with its fiery breath, attempting to scorch the beast into ashes.

"I activate the quickplay spell, Shrink! This allows me to cut the attack points of your mosnter in half!"

The dragon's attack points were reduced to 2250, allowing Green Baboon to counterattack and hit it with his club. The dragon survived the attack, but the force of the attack reduced Casey's Life Points.

"How did it survive?" Venus asked.

"Once per turn, I can prevent his destruction by removing a Drill Dragon in my graveyard from play." she explained.

"Anyways, I'll set two cards on the field, and switch my Mirage Dragon to defense mode. Your turn."

(3650-2700)

Venus' turn began, causing Spike Dragon's attack points to become 4300.

"That dragon of yours is pretty tough. Its a lot like you. Strong, and refuses to go down easily."

"Thanks." Casey replied.

"Of course, that just means that I need to try harder to defeat you. Since I know that I can't just destroy that monster of yours, I'll go a different way. I activate the quickplay spell, Enemy Controller! By sacrificing the Milus Radiant on my field, I can take control of one monster on your field, and take you down with it!"

"Too bad I can chain that!" replied Casey. "I activate Burst Breath! By sacrificing my dragon, all monsters on the field with defense points that are equal to or less than its attack points are destroyed!"

Spike Dragon released a powerful breath of fire that consumed the whole field, taking down not only himself, but Mirage Dragon and Green Baboon as well.

"In which case, I'll use my normal summon to summon my third Giant Rat!" For the third time in this duel, a Giant Rat appeared on the field. (1400/1450)-(1900/1450)

"Attack her directly!"

The large rat attacked Casey, cutting her with its claws.

"I'll set two cards and end my turn."

(1750-2700)

She thought about the Magic Jammer she had set on her last turn, along with Burst Breath.

_'It would be good to protect me from anything she might have up her sleeve, but I can't rely only on it.'_

She looked at the Call of the Haunted in her hand.

"I'll set a card on the field, and activate the spell card, Board of Education! This allows me to take an 'Educated' monster from my deck and special summon it to the field, as long as its level four or lower, such as Educated Spellcaster."

From the card's hologram, a small spellcaster jumped out. It was dressed in black robes and held a small staff. (1000/100)

"Thanks to his effect, I can special summon a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my graveyard. However, its effect is negated and it'll be removed from play at the end of the turn it was special summoned."

Though weak and battle-worn, Marauding Captain appeared on the field again.

"Of course, that won't matter, since he won't be here that long. I'll tune them both together!"

Educated Spellcaster became three green rings that floated around Marauding Captain as he dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight!"_

A knight covered in gold and silver armor appeared in the field, wielding a powerful sword of light and a strong shield. (2500/1900)

"However, I won't attack. I'll end my turn here."

(1750-2700)

"I don't know whether you are smart, or whether you've given up hope. Either way, you are done for. I activate Wild Nature's Release! This will increase the attack of my Giant Rat by an amount equal to its defense!"

"I activate the counter trap, Magic Jammer. By discarding one card in my hand, I can negate its activation and destroy it!" Casey discarded the Stamping Destruction in her hand, causing Venus' card to shatter into small pieces.

"I'll summon a Tree Otter to the field." Another Tree Otter appeared on the field, looking as relaxed as the previous one. (1200/100)-(1700/0)

"Using his effect, I'll raise the attack points of my Giant Rat by 1000."

Giant Rat's eyes glowed bright red as its attack points rose to 2900.

"Attack her knight!" The large rat attacked the knight, who responded by blocking the attack with his shield and knocking him back.

"My monster can't be destroyed by battle." Casey said.

"You still take damage, though. That's it for me."

(1350-2700)

"I can't believe your monsters still have this much power after such a long duel. I would have expected you to run out of moves a long time ago." Casey said as she began her turn.

"When creating a deck, they always tell you to make every card count, so I did. Anyways, I could say the same about you. You've survived this long, but for how much longer?"

Casey wondered the same thing, but the next card lifted up her spirits. It was Gift of the Martyr. It was her very last chance. If she wasn't able to pull this off now, she'd never be able to win.

"I activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted, to bring back Spike Dragon!" Spike Dragon appeared on the field once again, angry at having suffered defeat in the first place. (3900/1000)

"Next, I'll activate the spell card, Gift of the Martyr. By sacrificing Spike Dragon, I can raise Educated Knight's attack points by an amount equal to that of Spike Dragon!"

Spike Dragon dissolved into pixels that were absorbed by Educated Knight's blade, raising his attack points to 6400.

"Now, attack Giant Rat and finish this duel!" The knight's sword shone with an immense light, exterminating the large beast and reducing all of Venus' Life Points to zero.

The holograms slowly disappeared as Casey walked over to Venus.

"Glad to see you smiling." Venus said.

Casey sighed. The duel was not only over, but it was fun too. "I didn't even realize I was smiling." she replied, laughing a bit at the matter.

"That duel was very fun. I'm glad we were able to do this. Was I right? Did it help you feel better about all this?" she asked.

Casey nodded. "Yeah." She looked at her deck. "In fact, I've made up my mind too. Now that I know that my deck is strong, and that I can rely on my abilities as a duelist, I can fight in this war. I know that I'll be able to use my power to protect my friends."

"That's great to hear." Venus replied. "Its getting late. I should be going."

"So should I. Thanks for the great duel!" Casey said as she entered the elevator, going down to the first floor to her Duel Runner, hoping it was still there.

As soon as Casey had left, two figures appeared behind Venus.

"Would you mind explaining what happened?" said the deep-voiced one.

"I lost the duel, that's what." Venus replied.

"That's a lie. We saw the duel. Pot of Avarice, Rescue Cat, and Solidarity in your hand. Threatening Roar on the field. I don't see how you couldn't have countered her and defeated her on your next turn."

"Is it really so important what I could have done, but didn't?"

"Yes. You were supposed to test her to see if she was fit to have the powers of a God. By letting her win, you weren't able to determine wether she's worthy or not!" the figure exclaimed.

"Oh? Does it matter who wins if we are to determine if she's worthy or not? You saw how she dueled. There is no doubt in my mind that she's worthy. She's strong, persistent, and strong-willed. If that's not enough, then what is? Besides, this duel not only cleared away some of her worries, it made her feel better about herself."

Though the figure wanted to respond back, the one next to him cut him off. "I agree. There's no reason why we should keep arguing about this. I believe there are others that need to be tested as well."

He nodded, and they faded away from the area.

* * *

Back at her apartment, Casey was entering her room, using the fire escape that she had previously used to get out of there. As she entered, she heard someone jiggling the doorknob. Curious as to why this was happening, she unlocked it and opened the door, only to find Blake with some tools to try and unlock the door, and Zeke rushing him to open it.

She stared at them, speechless.

An awkward silence made its presence for a moment. Then, Blake dashed away from the hallway and into the living room, leaving Zeke alone to deal with the situation.

"Well, finally!" Zeke exclaimed. "I thought you'd never get out of there!"

"What were you two doing...?" Casey wondered.

Zeke scratched his head. "Well... The thing is... You hadn't eaten any of the food I made you today, and every time I tried to come in, the door was locked. So, since you wouldn't come and eat, I was starting to get worried."

"If _you_ were the one that was worried, then why was Blake trying to pick the lock?"

Her answer came from Blake, who was now hiding behind the corner of the hallway. "It was my idea. I told him it would have been easier for me to just pick the lock than to let him try and knock down the door."

Casey glared at Zeke. "You were going to knock down my door?"

"I was worried!" he replied, dashing away as Casey ran out of her room with a plastic bat and chased after him.

Blake, on the other hand, grabbed a pillow and hod on the couch, secretly watching as Casey chased Zeke around the apartment, hitting him every chance she got.

"I can't believe this is how you treat someone who was only thinking of you!" Zeke cried out as he shielded himself from her attacks.

**End of Chapter 14.

* * *

**

_Its a very important day in Zeke's life, but its not a happy one. Zeke is going to have a very tough day, full of many surprises, and many problems. But before the day is over, the agents shall test him, and this agent won't be holding back any punches. Strike of the Agents pt2 is next!_


	15. Chapter 15: Strike of the Agents pt 2

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Runaway by Kanye West_

A/N: So, I've been informed of a mistake I've made with speed duels and the cards allowed to be used in them. This means that, unless you guys prefer it the way it is now, future Turbo Duels will be using 'Speed Spells' and no other type of spell.

* * *

**Chapter 15: Strike of the Agents pt. 2**

Zeke woke up early that morning, as he always did. It was usually the only part of the day in which he got some time to himself, since Casey, Blake, and Akira didn't wake up until about 8 am. He yawned, and looked at the clock. It was 6:13 am.

He scratched his head and headed into the bathroom, wanting to shower up and get dressed. He could still remember what happened the last time he had woken up after Casey. Getting into that bathroom would require lethal force.

"That Casey is dangerous when she's holding a set of hot curling tongs..." he muttered to himself.

Within a half-hour, he had been able to brush his teeth, shower, and get dressed. At the moment, he was wearing a black t-shirt, a pair of black jeans, and a pair of white sneakers with black streaks.

He went into the kitchen, and checked out the contents of the refrigerator. There wasn't much left. "Seems like all we can do is pastries... That's no good..." He sighed, and closed the door. He would have to shop for food, and make sure to get here and prepare something before the others woke up. "Such a hassle..."

He went into his room and got his stuff, which ranged from his cell phone, to his wallet and his grey sweater. His jeans now had three chains. One was there for decoration over his right pocket. The other one was tied to his waist and attached to the pocketwatch he always carried around. The last one, however, was attached to his wallet, to prevent someone from stealing it.

He grabbed his duel disk, which currently held his deck, and proceeded to the door.

Just before he left his room, he stopped at the door for a moment. The calender was in front of him, and he saw the date. He took a deep breath. "Oh yeah... Today is _that_ day..." Today was not a good day. It was the fifth year anniversary... of his parent's death.

"Guess I'll have to make an extra stop today..." he said to himself as he left his room.

As he prepared to leave, he noticed there was a piece of paper taped to the door. The only thing that bothered him was that it was on the back, instead of the front. Zeke looked at it for a moment before he opened it.

"Funny... Did one of the others wake up before me? Or did Akira get back overnight and left us this?"

He opened it, and saw that it only had a location. "Cafe la Geen?"

He looked back at the hallway for a moment, and then headed out to said location.

* * *

It was already 7:49 am when Zeke arrived to Cafe la Geen. The place was open, but it was pretty much deserted. "What the hell am I supposed to be doing here, anyway?" he muttered to himself.

Not knowing what to do, he sat down at a nearby table and began to think. "Here's your coffee." said the waitress, Stephanie, as she placed a cup of hot coffee before him. "But I didn't order anything..." Zeke replied.

Stephanie looked at him, confused. "What do you mean? You called here and told us that you were coming, and wanted to have a cup of coffee ready for you." she explained.

"Oh, I did? Sorry, I must still be sleepy..." he replied, chuckling and thanking her.

She went back inside the shop, and he stared at the cup. _'I called? What's going on?'_ he wondered. Something strange was going on. Whoever it was that left him that note wanted him to be here, and obviously knew he'd come. He decided to wait a while there. If the waitress had gotten him confused, and someone else had requested it instead, then maybe he could figure out what was going on.

He looked at his pocketwatch. It was 8:22 am. He had waited there for quite a bit, but no one else had shown up. "Waitress, may I have the bill?" he asked politely, wanting to leave already. Stephanie nodded and brought it to him.

Upon having seen it, he was momentarily shocked, but he tried to hide it from her. _'Three thousand yen! Who the hell buys coffee this expensive? When I catch whoever is behind this whole stunt, I'm going to make sure they pay me back for this!'_

He set four thousand yen on the table, which covered the coffee and had a tip for the waitress. Since there was no need for him to hang out here anymore, he decided to go to the cemetery next.

* * *

He checked his pocketwatch. It was 8:47 am. Zeke now stood before two tombstones. One belonged to a Yun Naganori. The other, belonged to an Ayame Naganori.

He sat down in front of them, staring at them intently for a moment. After a few minutes, he sighed. "Mom... Dad... I... Don't know what to say...

"I honestly wish I could have been here for your funeral... At least."

He closed his eyes, a distant memory came back to him. Though he had previously thought it was part of a dream, he had recently learned that this was just a repressed memory.

_"I'm just trying to help the Signers. If I can defeat a Dark Signer, that just means that it's one less person that will risk their life. If it turns out that the person I help out is you, then, I guess that it was part of fate's plan after all." he said. _

_"Besides, I know you. You have gone through enough in your life. Becoming a pawn in fate's twisted plan was one of the worst things that could have happened to you."_

_"You can't help me. Not you, or anyone else." Akiza replied. "You do not know me at all. And I've gone through worse things than having to learn that I was part of some five thousand year old battle."_

_"Yes, yes, you have gone through worse things. But there are things that are even more worse than what happened to you. I just hope that you don't ever experience them first hand. I have, and trust me, a life like yours would be much better than the one I have now."_

_"You wouldn't want my life. I have never been able to have an actual family. My parents just called me a monster and stayed as far away from me as possible. Then, they shipped me off to some school where I couldn't bother them. And they were happy about it! Even worse, I couldn't make any friends, since everyone feared my powers..." she told him._

_"Yeah...I guess that would be bad, but...So would having friends that lie to you. Parents who take care of you, but have never even said a word to you. So would having a found a home where there are others like you, but they don't care about you all. And the one man who pretends to care about the things you say and do, tells you the truth. _

_"He tells you how you are just a pawn. How he's been using you, and trying to get you to further his own evil plans. Then he tells you how he was behind most of your problems. How he stages accidents and events to make you feel pain, and then he makes you hold it up inside until he has a use for it!"_

He clenched his fist in anger. "I remember... Divine... I don't know where the hell you are right now, but I hope you are suffering..."

Zeke thought about his life with his parents. He was the son of a very wealthy family. A family that was rich, and had much influence over Neo Domino. Zeke was a special kid. He was one of the few people with psychic powers that were at high-enough levels to turn a normal duel into one that could be several times worse than a Shadow Duel.

Because of this, the people in his life weren't the best ones you could find. His parents, he had always believed they were the worst ones. They did their best to keep him happy. They gave him whatever he wanted, anything he needed, and always made sure he was kept in the best of moods.

Normally, one would consider this a good thing, but not him. He knew why they did it. They were afraid of him. They believed that if he wasn't happy, he'd use his powers against them, hurting them or probably even killing them. They had made sure to distance themselves from him as best they could, even going to the trouble of sending him to a boarding school to study.

"Yeah... An out-of-the-country Duel Academy. They said it was the best one in the world, so they sent me there, despite it being all the way in England..."

Things got worse from there. Though he made lots of friends at first, he soon realized that these people a lot more about his wealth than him. Eventually, his psychic powers were revealed to the school, and once again, people distanced themselves from him. The very few that remained his friends were just the ones whose greed was so much, that they would risk anything.

It wasn't until he was sixteen, and returned home. He had graduated and would soon enter the Pro Leagues. It was then that he had met Divine. Having felt rejected by everyone, he listened to what Divine had told him, actually believing the things he had said.

Due to how strong his powers were, he was highly admired in the Arcadia Movement. This, however, meant that Divine wanted to control his powers as well. It was because of all this, the false hopes, the lies that he let himself believe, that he ended up with such a heartless reputation in the Pro Leagues. Though he always harmed his opponents, he made sure the wounds weren't fatal, not feeling enough hate inside to go to such lengths.

Still, he had ranked third in the Top 5, and duelists all over admired the changing power of his deck, the cold attitude he had towards opponents, and the unbelievable powers that he had.

"I wonder how that old stadium is now..."

He stayed there a while longer, paying his respects. Just before he left, however, he took a look at his pocketwatch. "Thanks, dad..."

He left the cemetery, and went to the stadium he had once dueled in.

* * *

"Wouldn't you know it? Its abandoned... I guess Turbo Duels was too much competition for them. Sad, really. There were so many great duels here..." he said, staring up at the large building.

He took a quick look around. There was no one else here, so he figured he could get away with going in.

He kicked the door open, the chains and locks on it being too old and rusted to ever be able to hold him off. A large amount of dust exited the building when he did this, concealing him as he entered.

The inside was as big as ever. It was dirty, this much was true, but it wasn't in bad condition. In fact, if someone were to take the time to work on this place, it could be opened up again. He stepped up to the middle of the stadium, looking around as the memories of his past battles here ran through his head.

_The crowd cheered as Zeke's Ancient Gear Soldier fired a few rounds at an opposing monster, destroying it and winning the duel._

_"What an amazing duel! We could never expect less from one of the greatest duelist of our time!" screamed the announcer. "Azekial Naganori, ranked third in the International Pro League, beaten only Mukuro Enjo and Shira!"_

Zeke smiled. "Those were the days, huh?"

_"Roaring Lion*, attack him directly!" Zeke commanded._

_The large beast jumped up, cutting the opponent with its claws as it came down, reducing his Life Points to zero._

_The announcer spoke up over the cheers. "Azekial Naganori wins again! Seems like this duelist is truly the Arcadia Movement's ace! Showing us all the power that a psychic duelist can truly have! I fear whoever duels him without knowing what they are up against!"_

He turned his head to the bulletin board on the wall closest to the door. There were lots of newspaper articles, but something was strange. He approached the wall, curious. As he scanned the articles, he noticed that they all had something in common.

"This is so creepy..." he said, almost speechless. "I feel stalked... All these articles... They are about me, or things I'm associated with."

Among them, you could see an article referring to his Pro League life, another referring to his death, another referring to the death of his parents, and another one referring to the Arcadia Movement and his parents. He read the last one with great interest.

"...Money from Naganori family was donated to the Arcadia Movement?"

Zeke punched the wall in anger. "Those... Bastards! I know Divine must have had something to do with this!" It had to have been Divine. Knowing his parents, knowing how they hated him, they _must_ have hated the Arcadia Movement as well! If they didn't...

"If they didn't... that would mean that they hated _me_... Not my powers..."

Then he saw one last article. This one managed to bring a huge smile to Zeke's face. "Founder of Arcadia Movement dead. Security reports multiple charges against the Arcadia Movement and shuts it down!"

Inside, he was gloating. _'Divine, you got what you deserved!'_

Now, he decided to check out the remains of that building...

* * *

Within an hour, he arrived at the Arcadia Movement building. There were chains and locks all around, but this place was also deserted. "Heh. Never thought I'd see the day..."

After having snuck in, it only took him about ten minutes to get to Divine's office. Though he found it strange that the power was still on after the building was supposedly shut down, he thought it was convenient, since it meant he didn't have to take the stairs all the way up.

He looked around inside the office. Being here brought quite a few memories. More specifically, though, it reminded him of the last time he was here...

_He was standing face-to-face with Divine._

_Both of their duel disks were activated, but this wasn't a duel._

_"You monster!" Zeke shouted._

_"Does it bother you? I hoped it would. Zeke, your parents would never take you back, no matter what!" Divine replied._

_"Despite what I've done for you, give you all this fame and power, all you've ever done is disrespect me and mope around your room all day with that fucking bird!"_

_"At least I know why the caged bird sings, Divine..." Zeke stated._

_"After what you did... Here I thought you were a good person, someone who could help me deal with my powers! But it seems I was wrong! You are just _scum_..."_

_"You ungrateful brat! I go out of my way to help you control your psychic powers! To help you show the world what a psychic duelist is truly capable of! And you have the nerve to quit and ruin all of my hard work! You can't possibly think you'll get away with this! Don't you get it? Without me, you are nothing!" Divine spat._

_"Yeah, right! As long as I'm with you, I'll be nothing... Nothing but a puppet controlled by a corrupt bastard!"_

_Divine placed a card on his duel disk, which was Sword of Dark Destruction, and grabbed the hologram, his psychic powers allowing it to become real. "Damn you! You realize, I cannot let you leave here that easily! If you leave the Arcadia Movement, I'll have no choice but to kill you!"_

_Zeke smirked. "I wasn't planning on leaving here. You know... after all that has happened, you using me, telling me the truth. How you lied to my parents, made them think I would end up hurting them... Telling them that I was some kind of monster that needed to be controlled to be accepted by humanity... Well, I've been wanting to say a few things to you... However, actions speak louder than words!"_

_He placed a card on his duel disk, and it appeared before Divine. It was Self-Destruct Button. "Die!" he yelled as the card exploded..._

"I remember that... I was hoping it would work... Damn bastard managed to use a Mirror Shield just before the explosion began to protect himself... After that, he released part of the edited video footage from the security camera and told everyone I had died, since he believed that was the truth.

"What really happened, though, was that I had escaped by jumping out the window, and then used one of my winged beasts to escape to the Satellite..."

Then, he saw a small box on Divine's desk. "This wasn't here when I first came in..." he said, feeling suspicious. Still, standing around and staring at the box wouldn't help him figure anything out, so he went to the desk.

The box had his parents' name on it, and when he opened it, it had a few of their things, as well as a letter. He opened it and read what it said.

_"Dear Zeke,_

_We are sorry for the way we've acted towards you. The truth was that your powers had scared us, but we never did stop loving you. We are sorry we made you feel like we hated you, and it is now that we realize our mistake. We promise to be better parents to you from now on, even if it might be too late. We shall try our best to fix what we've done, even if its impossible. This is why, on your eighteenth birthday, your father and I spared no expense, and decided to get you the best cards we could find. Though we didn't know much about Duel Monsters when we looked for them, we trusted the people that sold us these rare cards, and even if they did trick us, we believe that its worth it just to see you smile again. We don't expect these cards to make up for what we did, but we want you to know that it shows that we are willing to gain your trust. We really do love you Zeke, don't ever doubt this._

_ -Love, your mother and father."_

Tears began to fall from his cheeks. He couldn't believe what he had read. His parents, people that he had always thought hated him, were actually willing to try and be good parents. He was completely speechless.

Then, he noticed. A very important detail in the letter. "...On your eighteenth birthday?" His eighteenth birthday was actually just about a week before he confronted Divine and faked his death. "But I never got this!"

Now he had realized something. He had realized why this was here. "He must have taken it... Is that why he did all this to me? Is that why he tried to kill me that day? If I had found this, I would have quit Arcadia with no regrets, and have left the Pro Leagues too. He must have known that, and that's why..."

Though the tears had kept falling, he kept looking through the box, which surprisingly had two copies of his parents' will. One stated that they left everything to him. The other one stated that, due to not having an heir to inherit their wealth, all their money would be donated to the Arcadia Movement.

"I'm starting to get the strange feeling that Divine was the 'freak' in that accident..." Zeke said.

He grabbed the letter again, dried up his face, and looked inside the envelope. Inside was a pack of cards. Though he just looked at them, he noticed there were about twenty of them in there. He took them out, and looked through them.

He was shocked when he saw the cards that were in there. "These... These are..."

"Amazing, isn't it?" said a voice from behind.

Instinctively, he turned around and raised his duel disk, ready to fight. The person that was standing before him was pretty tall, about seven feet in height. His skin was a green-blue color, same as the feathers on his wings. His hair was blue, but very short, or shaved, one could say.

"Who are you?" Zeke questioned.

"I am Mercury, a messenger of the Olympian Gods. I have come here to help you fight in this war."

"Help us fight?"

"Yes. You see, the Gods have to fight this war on a global scale, and can only lend their power to one person in each of the groups that shall be fighting. I'm here to test you and see if you are worthy of receiving their power."

"I would have thought that you guys would already know who's worthy and who isn't."

"True, but since you gained a new power recently, basing your worth off of past battles would be inaccurate, wouldn't it?"

Zeke looked at him suspiciously. "A new power?"

"Yes." Mercury replied. "I'm speaking, of course, of those cards you found in that envelope."

Zeke thought about all this for a moment. "It was you, wasn't it? The note on my door, the box that had suddenly appeared on Divine's desk... It was _your_ doing, wasn't it?"

Mercury nodded. "As well as the newspaper articles, the graveyard, and the power working in a building that was shut down over a year ago."

"The graveyard?" Zeke wondered.

"Yes. It seems you didn't notice. There was a tombstone next to that of your parents'. It was broken, but the name could still be read, and it was yours."

"Mine?"

"Yes. You had faked your own death, so a funeral had been done for you, and when your parents died, close friends of theirs arranged their graves to be put next to yours according to their wishes, they said."

Zeke stared at him in disbelief for a moment. "First the box with their letter, and now this? Why are you doing all this?"

"They say knowledge is power. Today, as you obtained more knowledge, you also obtained more power. That power shall help you in your future battles. Not only that, but you need to move on, Zeke. Change is good, and until you let go of the past, you can't aim for the future. I set all of this up today to help you learn a few things about you and your past, and to help you change."

"I see..." he said. He looked at the pack of cards in his hands. "You sound a lot like the Fates... One of them told me that until I change, I am not ready to fight."

"They aren't wrong, you know. I am merely here to make sure that their wisdom reaches you."

"In which case, it means that by adding these cards to my deck, I'll be making a step in the right direction, huh?"

Mercury simply nodded.

"Alright then." He took his deck out of the duel disk and began switching cards around, until all twenty cards were useable in his deck. The cards he took out were put in his pocket. _'Now that I think about it, the Fates were probably right. The reason why I was so good back in the Pro Leagues was because I kept changing my deck... Recently, though, I've only kept using the same deck, with the same cards, and the same strategies. I guess it is time for me to make a change...'_

"Now that you are prepared, I would like to ask you to duel me. I need to test your new power, remember?" Mercury said.

Zeke smiled, then nodded. "Alright. Let's duel!"

Their duel disks activated, and the duel began.

(4000-4000)

"Mind if I take the first turn?" Mercury asked.

"Not at all." Zeke replied.

"I'll summon Mist Valley Watcher in defense mode." A monster appeared on the field. It had a human body, but its arms were bird claws with a few feathers on them. His legs were that of a bird, and though he had these, he still looked more human than bird. He wore a set of sunglasses that made him look like a spy. (1500/1900)

"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"Mist Valley, huh? Pretty rare cards. I've heard of them, but never actually seem them." Zeke said.

"I assure you, you'll get to know them well in this duel."

Zeke drew a card and looked at his hand. He had Spiritual Wind Art-Miyabi, Winged Sage Falcos, Star Blast, Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry, Stealth Bird, and Garuda the Wind Spirit. _'None of the newer cards... Still, this is pretty good. Need to play it a bit safe this turn, in case that card he set isn't a bluff.'_

"I'll set one card on the field, and I'll set one monster on the field.

"I end my turn with that."

(4000-4000)

"I'll activate the continuous spell card, Spring of Rebirth. Now, whenever a monster is sent back to the owner's hand, I gain 500 Life Points.

"Next, I'll activate the effect of the Mist Condor in my hand. By returning a 'Mist Valley' monster from my field to my hand, I can special summon him to the field." The Mist Valley Watcher turned into an orb of light, and floated back to Mercury's hand.

Then, from a portal, a large blue-feathered condor appeared, wearing a human skull around its neck. (1400/400)

"And since I used his effect to special summon him, his attack points become 1700. Not only that, but since I special summoned him, I can summon Mist Valley Watcher to the field once more." Mist Valley Watcher appeared on the field again, kneeling down and shielding himself with his arms. (1500/1900)

"Mist Valley Condor, attack his face-down monster!" The condor landed on the set monster and grabbed it with its legs. The poor Stealth Bird was unable to fight back, and was crushed, causing a few feathers to fly out and hit Mercury.

"Since you destroyed my Stealth Bird, you take 1000 points of damage." Zeke said.

"That's not all that bad. I end my turn."

(4000-3500)

_'No kidding. You just halved the amount of damage you took.'_

Zeke drew another card. It was Swallow's Nest.

"I'll set one card, and summon Winged Sage Falcos in attack mode!" A bird, with the body of a human, but the arms, head, and wings of a bird, appeared on the field. It wore robes that symbolized a sort of religious status where he lived. (1700/1200)

"Falcos, destroy his Condor!"

"But they'll kill each other!" exclaimed Mercury.

Falcos attacked the condor, knocking it onto the ground. The condor, however, stabbed him with its talons, causing them both to be destroyed.

"Not really. Due to Falcos' effect, your monster gets added to the top of your deck. Next, I'll activate Garuda the Wind Spirit's effect. By removing from play a Wind monster from my graveyard, I can special summon him to the field." Another bird with the body of a human but the head, arms, and wings of a bird appeared on the field. This one, however, seemed to be more of a fighter than a spiritualist like the previous one. (1600/1200)

"I end my turn with that."

(4000-3500)

Mercury drew a card as he started his turn.

"I'll activate the effect of the Mist Condor in my hand. By returning a 'Mist Valley' monster from my field to my hand, I can special summon him to the field." The Mist Valley Watcher turned into an orb of light, and floated back to Mercury's hand.

From a portal, Mist Condor appeared on the field, its attack points becoming 1700 through its effect. (1400/400)-(1700/400)

"And since I special summoned him, I can summon Mist Valley Watcher to the field once more." Mist Valley Watcher appeared on the field again, kneeling down and shielding himself with his arms. (1500/1900)

"Mist Condor, destroy his Wind Spirit." Mist Condor flapped its wings, the force of it causing Garuda to shatter into pixels.

"I end my turn."

(3900-4000)

Zeke drew another card. Winged Repayment. _'This is one of their cards...'_

He looked at Simorgh, his ace card. _'Heh. He's my ace, and he's useless here. If I use his effect to return cards to the owner's hand, Spring of Rebirth will just reduce my damage. If I use his effect on Spring of Rebirth, then I'll be unable to do more damage to him. I could return his Spring of Rebirth and his Mist Valley Watcher. That would at least reduce the amount of monsters on his field next turn. Still, to use his effect, I need to sacrifice a monster, and I don't have one right now. Of course, I can't exactly wait another turn...'_

"I activate Star Blast! By paying 500 Life Points for each each level, I can reduce the level of one monster in my hand. So, by paying 2000 Life Points, I can summon the monster in my hand without a tribute. Come on out, Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry!"

A large golden eagle with four golden wings hovered behind Zeke. (2900/2000)

"Simorgh, destroy his Condor!"

The large eagle screeched, the powerful shockwaves causing Mist Condor to shatter into pixels.

"Next, I'll activate Winged Repayment. At the cost of 500 Life Points, I can draw a card for every Winged-Beast Type monster on my field, so long as I don't use the card this turn."

He drew another card and added it to his hand. "Your turn."

(1400-2800)

"Nice move. It was pretty risky, but you even ended up with half my Life Points." Mercury commented, though Zeke didn't reply.

"Very well. Since you've forced me to go this far... I summon Mist Valley Shaman." Another humanoid bird, this one resembling one of the Harpies, appeared on the field. Like Mist Valley Watcher, she had sharp talons on her hands, and did not have any wings. (1200/1200)

"In case you didn't know, she's a tuner. So, I'll tune my monsters together!"

Mist Valley Shaman dissolved into three green rings that floated around Mist Valley Watcher, who then turned into four glowing stars.

_"From the far lands where the sky prevails, let the Lord of Thunder come forth! Synchro Summon! Strike, Mist Valley Thunder Lord!"_

A large monster, with a muscular body, bird wings, appeared on the field, wielding a metal hammer. The creature was huge, bulky, and its size was slightly larger than that of Simorgh. It roared, showing off its strength. (2600/2400)

"That thing isn't strong enough to take down my Simorgh!"

Mercury smiled. "Not yet. However, patience is a virtue. Your move."

(1400-2800)

Zeke drew another card. It was Unicorn Beacon. _'Another one of the new cards...'_

He wondered what to do. After all, he didn't have any monsters to summon, and using Unicorn Beacon was kind of risky at the moment.

"Simorgh, attack his Thunder Lord!" Simorgh began flapping his wings, creating a powerful windstorm. Thunder Lord tried desperately to counterattack.

"I use the effect of Thunder Lord! By returning a card I control back to my hand, I can increase his attack points by 500! Enough to take down your monster!"

Spring of Rebirth went back to Mercury's hand, allowing Thunder Lord's attack points to become 3100. Thunder Lord pushed on through the wind that tried to tear him apart, and got to Simorgh, grabbing hold of his legs. This caused Simorgh to beat his wings faster, trying to push him away.

"I chain that!" replied Zeke, activating one of his traps. "By activating Spiritual Wind Art-Miyabi, I can sacrifice my Simorgh to send your monster to the bottom of your deck!"

Simorgh and Thunder Lord, who were about to battle now, turned into orbs of light and disappeared from the field, causing the windstorm to calm down and die.

"I end my turn..." Zeke said reluctantly.

(1400-3300)

"You gave up your ace card. Interesting. The monster you had relied on to win so many duels, and you just sacrificed him to ensure your survival." Mercury commented.

_'Not really...'_ thought Zeke. _'He's been my ace for a long time, but things are going to change. So I'll be damned if I let _you_ be the one to destroy him.'_

"Anyways, you left yourself wide open for an attack. First, I activate Spring of Rebirth. Next, I'll summon Fushi No Tori." A small bird made of flames appeared on the field. (1200/0)

"Attack him directly!" The small bird flew at Zeke, crashing into him and knocking him down. Then, it flew back to Mercury, hitting him with a glowing red light that seemed to be healing him.

"Thanks to his effect, any battle damage he inflicts onto you becomes Life Points for me as well. Sadly, he has to go back to my hand at the end of my turn, but that will activate the effect of Spring of Rebirth." he explained.

"Now, I'll set a card and end my turn."

(200-5000)

_'Damn it... Fighting this bastard is like fighting Divine. His Life Points were always going up...'_

Zeke drew another card. _'This card... Perfect. I can fight back!'_

"I activate Unicorn Beacon! By discarding one card from my hand, I can special summon a Winged-Beast Type monster that was removed from play." He discarded Blast with Chain, and used Unicorn Beacon to summon back Winged Sage Falcos.

"He's not staying long, though. I summon Gusta Garudo!" A large green bird, roughly half his size, appeared on the field, wearing a helmet and some armor. (500/500)

"Next, I'll tune them together!"

Gusta Garudo became three green rings that floated around Winged Sage Falcos, who dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"The ever-changing wind shifts, unleashing a new force upon the unsuspecting! Synchro Summon! Daigusta Eagles!"_

A much larger version of the bird appeared, wearing a much more upgraded version of the armor it had on when it was smaller. There was also person on the eagle, making it seem like he was the bird's tamer. (2600/1800)

"Attack him directly!"

The person riding the eagle fired a shot of telekinetic energy at Mercury, strong enough to push him back a few steps. It seemed that Mercury was much stronger than he looked.

"I end my turn, activating Daigusta's effect. By removing from play a Wind monster in my graveyard, I can destroy one of your set cards." He pocketed Garuda the Wind Spirit, and Mercury's set card, which happened to be Call of the Haunted, revealed itself and shattered into small pieces.

(200-2400)

Mercury began his turn. "You've done pretty well. However, I see that you need to work more on mastering that deck. Its no surprise, though. In fact, I've got to say that I'm impressed. You've used that deck pretty well, despite having just gotten most of those cards a short while ago."

"Thanks, but you sound a little overconfident." Zeke said.

"Overconfident? Not at all. Just look at yourself. You've only got 200 Life Points left. I've got 2400. We are both one hit away from losing. However, with you, I've got two choices. Either summon something that's just slightly stronger than your monster, and your defeat is certain. Or defend for this turn. Either way, I can prevent you from defeating me, and your Life Points are hanging by a thread."

"Alright. So you make some pretty good points. I still don't see you summoning something stronger than my monster." he stated.

"Agree. Remember, though, not everything is what it seems. I summon Mist Valley Baby Roc!" A small monster appeared. It was basically a younger version of the Roc from the Valley of Haze that Zeke had in his deck. (400/600)

"Next, I'll equip him with the spell card, Buster Rancher!" A large cannon appeared next to Baby Roc, which he seemed to be handling.

Zeke's eyes widened in shock as he saw this.

"I take it you know what this card does. In which case, I believe you know that your defeat is certain. Baby Roc, attack!"

The cannon that the small tuner had began to charge. Within seconds, the weapon had charged, and it fired off a powerful beam that tore through Daigusta Eagles and hit Zeke, knocking him back a few feet.

His Life Points were reduced to zero, and the holograms faded away.

"You did very well, Zeke."

Zeke rubbed his head as he got up. "Yeah. Not good enough, it seems."

"Don't think so negatively. You had never used those cards in your life, and you almost won. Few people are that good at dueling."

"Thanks." Zeke replied. "I guess I failed your test, huh?"

"We'll see. In the meantime, I suggest you get out of here. The power will be shut off soon, which means you'd have to take the stairs, and I doubt you'd want to do that." he said, walking out into the hall.

"Good point... Hey, wait a minute!" Zeke exclaimed as he chased after him into the hall, only to find no one there. "He's gone... And he never paid me back for that damn coffee!"

It was almost 8 pm when he got home. In all the stuff he got caught up in today, he had forgotten to buy food, so he had to go and get some, which took a lot longer than he hoped. He arrived at the apartment, tired from having to carry all the groceries all the way up here.

* * *

He opened the opened and pulled all the bags inside. "Hey guys! I'm back-!"

Just then, an egg had flown at his face and hit him. He cleaned it off and found Casey and Blake in the kitchen, covered in flour, eggs, and other foods that were difficult to determine through the mess. They stood frozen as they noticed Zeke, causing the bowl in their hands to slip and fall onto the floor, messing up the room even more.

"What the hell did you guys do to my kitchen?" Zeke exclaimed as he saw the mess.

"Its not our fault! You see, we were, uh..." Casey said, trying to think of something.

"It was Casey's fault!" shouted Blake, causing her to punch him in the face.

"You jerk!"

"I want an explanation!" Zeke demanded.

"We were hungry!" Casey replied.

"And you weren't here! So we decided to try and make something to eat." Blake added. "But there wasn't much, and then Casey started trying to take over everything and-!" Another punch interrupted him.

"Would you stop blaming me for all this?"

"Was it so damn hard for you guys to just pick up a phone and order out?" replied Zeke.

"About that..." started Blake. "Well, most of the time, we usually just took some from your wallet, and since we couldn't find it, we couldn't order anything."

Zeke's left eye twitched momentarily. "You guys have been stealing my money? What's wrong with yours?"

"Come on! You don't expect me to waste my hard-earned money, now do you?" Blake replied.

Unfortunately for Zeke, Blake saw his kick coming, and he managed to dodge it. "I'm going to kick your ass, you cheap, lazy, bastard!"

In the meantime, Casey just watched, laughing a bit at what was happening.

Within minutes of chasing Blake around the room, he caught him and was trying to put him in a sleeper hold, though Blake was resisting very well. "You... are... going... to clean up this mess!"

Though he wasn't able to say much, Blake tried to answer back. "But... Casey's at... fault too! ...Make her... clean it up...!"

And so it went on. The fighting didn't really end until they made an even bigger mess, and then forced Zeke to help them clean it up alongside them. Though small fights between Blake, Zeke, and Casey started up throughout the cleaning, they managed to die out quickly enough.

**End of Chapter 15.

* * *

**

_Seems Blake's tip was good. These cards really were good. However, are they good enough? He'll have to find out as he duels the last of the agents. Strike of the Agents pt. 3 is coming soon. _


	16. Chapter 16: Strike of the Agents pt 3

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

A/N: Though I've used this archetype in the prequel to this story, I was not satisfied with how I used it. This chapter shall feature my second attempt at using this archetype, and I hope it turned out well.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 16: Strike of the Agents pt. 3**

Blake had woken up a short while ago. It was already 9 am, but he hadn't come out of his room since he woke up. He was busy thinking about his duel against Trina, one of the Fates.

_"Before I defeat you, I'll tell you this..."_

_"Are you kidding? Your monster is weaker than mine! There's no way that you can do enough damage to beat me now!" Blake gloated._

_"You simple-minded fool! You rely only on your strength, and not on the strength of others. Your limited strength shall be your downfall!" she said with a lot of tension in her voice. It was easy to tell that Blake had angered her some. "I activate the effect of Frontline Base, allowing me to summon Pitch-Dark Dragon to the field." Another dragon, similar to Kiryu, appeared on the field, though this one was, as its name implies, a pitch-black color. (900/600)_

_"Now, I activate the spell card, Gift of the Martyr, allowing me to sacrifice my Pitch-Dark Dragon and add its attack points to Dark Blade until the end of this turn." Pitch-Dark Dragon dissolved into pixels that fused with Dark Blade, increasing his power._

_"Now, I activate the effect of Kiryu. I can sacrifice him while he's an equip spell..." Kiryu dissolved into pixels and disappeared, causing Dark Blade's attack points to become 2400. "And in return, Dark Blade can attack you directly!"_

_"What?" Blake cried out in surprise._

_Dark Blade rushed past his monster and attacked him, reducing his Life Points to zero._

_As the monsters faded, Trina looked at him. "Figure it out quickly, for there isn't much time left..." she told him._

He was lying down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. _'Its not so much that she beat me, its how she did it. All those low level monsters just kept getting powered up, and it was almost impossible to get rid of them...'_

Just then, his cell phone beeped. A message had been sent to him. He opened it, wondering what it said.

_Want those rare cards? I know where to go. Meet me at the Bootleg at 3 pm._

Though he was somewhat happy, Blake still didn't smile. This message was good news, but he still didn't know what exactly it was that he was looking for. "One step at a time, I suppose..."

He walked out of his room, and saw that the place was completely empty. No dishes, no food, and no one else was around. "I guess they must have left or something..."

He walked into the bathroom, and within 15 minutes, he had showered and gotten ready.

"Its still early, but I guess I can go around town until then." he said to himself as he left the apartment.

* * *

The Daimon Area. It used to be a dangerous place back when the Black Rose Witch used to come here. Its been a long time since then, and things have calmed down here considerably. However, its not to say that this place is safe. This place is still pretty dangerous, as this is where all those criminals that don't want to get sent to the Facility would usually hang out. Since they felt pretty safe around here, they often became used to it all, and would resume their criminal activity.

Due to all of this, its no surprise that Blake would know this place very well. After all, its the only place he would be able to participate in Underground Turbo Duels.

As he drove through the streets, he started feeling a little nostalgic. _'Now that I think about it, its been a while since I've been here. I believe the last time was a few days before I met Casey...'_

He stopped in front of the large Duel Arena in the middle of the square. There were a few people dueling there, and a small audience, but it seemed to be a slow day. This place was usually filled with a large audience, many duelists waiting to duel, and some spectacular entertainment.

At the moment, there was a small kid dueling against an older man, who seemed to have a hood on to hide his identity.

The small kid just had 300 Life Points, a set card on his field, and a large spherical machine with many arms and weapons floating on the field. (1850/800)

His opponent had a set card on his field also, and 700 Life Points, but had no monsters on his field. Fortunately for him, however, it was now his turn.

"I'll start my turn by activating the trap card, Call of the Haunted!" he said, his trap lifting up and activating. Then, without warning, a large monster appeared on the field. It was a tall, muscular, humanoid jackal, with green armor, a slightly worn out cape, and a katar in each hand. (2700/1200)

"Remember my Mystical Knight of Jackal? Well, he remembers you, and he's not too happy about what you did to him. Now, attack his Mechanicalchaser!" The large Beast-Warrior stabbed his katars through the armor of the machine, causing it to explode violently.

The monsters faded away as the small kid's Life Points dropped to zero.

As Blake approached the Arena, he found the small kid on the ground with a few bruises, and his hooded opponent standing before him, crushing the kid's cards beneath his feet.

"You little runt! This is what happens when you mouth off to someone!" he told him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and lifting him up. "Those cards of yours are trash, just like you!" The man threw a punch, but it was stopped by Blake.

"Let the kid go, _now_." demanded Blake.

The hooded man let the small kid go, and smirked. "You really should stay out of other people's business..." he said, walking away.

Blake glared at him for a moment, and then turned his attention towards the kid. "Hey, kid, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." he replied as he picked up his cards. "Hey mister, thanks for helping me." The kid then gasped as he saw Blake's jet blue hair, and the snake tattoos that ran up his left arm. "Hey! I know you! You're that guy, Blake, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." he replied.

"Wow! This is so awesome! I'm a huge fan of yours! My name's Justin!"

"Really?"

"Yeah." the kid replied. "Your Underground Turbo Duels are so awesome!"

"Heh. Thanks. So what happened between you and that guy, anyway?" Blake asked.

Justin looked down at what was left of his deck. "Well, there was a duel going on, and when it had ended, I said I would go next. He had been standing near me, and said that I couldn't win a duel cause I was just a runt. I told him I could at least beat him, and then he insulted me. So, I insulted him back. Then he got mad and decided to duel me, and well, you saw how it ended."

"I see..." muttered Blake. "You mind if I take a look at your deck?"

Justin smiled. "That would be great! Maybe you could even give me a few pointers! This is so awesome!" Justin stated as he gave Blake his deck.

Blake scanned the deck quickly. He noticed it was a Machine deck, but it didn't have too big a strategy around it. There weren't many support cards for it, and he didn't really have many strong monsters. _'That must be why he's got a Limiter Removal in his deck...'_

"So what do you think? Huh? Is it any good?" Justin asked.

Blake smiled and handed him back his deck. "Yeah. Its pretty good. Could use a bit of work, but you are definitely on the right track to making a powerful deck."

"This is so great!" Then he noticed Blake's duel disk. "Hey! Can I see your deck? I mean, I've seen you use it in your duels, but I've never seen it up close! Please? Please?"

Blake chuckled and patted the kid's head. "Yeah, yeah. Calm down a bit. I'll let you see it." he replied, taking his deck out of his duel disk and handing it over to the kid.

The kid carefully scanned it with a lot of excitement, amazed that he could see his idol's deck this close. He gasped in surprise almost every time he looked at a card. "These cards are great! But you know, I've always wondered why you use cards like Overdrive and Oni Tank T-34. Don't people bother you because of these cards?" he asked, handing him back his cards.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, well, don't they tell you that these cards are useless, or worthless, or stuff like that?"

Blake shrugged. "Well, sometimes, but that doesn't bother me."

"Why not?" Justin wondered.

"Because these cards mean more to me than that."

"They do?"

"Yeah. You see, I'm actually from England. My dad used to be in the military. He was an unbelievable soldier, always getting awards, and medals too. Sometimes, they would give him some rare Duel Monsters cards as a bonus. He always said he didn't like them, and that he had no use for them, so he gave them to me."

"That's so cool!"

"Yeah, kind of. Anyways, with those cards, along with all the stories he's told me, I eventually made a Machine deck. Since I always loved to hear his stories, I decided to make it based off of military weapons, such as tanks, bombs, grenades. You know, stuff like that."

Justin listened, impressed by all of this. "I didn't know that! That's awesome! I can't wait until I'm as good as you one day!"

"Well, that's good to hear. Heh. And don't worry, from what I've seen, you get there soon enough." Blake assured him.

"Thanks! Sorry, but I have to go. I think I'll go see if the Duel Shrine can help me make a better deck! See ya!" said the kid as he ran off.

Blake thought for a moment as he heard this. _'Duel Shrine? I've heard of that place. I wonder...'_

He decided to go there too, mounting he Duel Runner and heading off in the same direction as the kid.

The kid's hooded opponent had been watching the whole time from an alley. Once they had left, he turned towards a familiar man wearing a suit. "So, is that it? All I have to do is join you, and I'll get revenge against Blake?"

The man before him nodded. "Yes. That would be all. Of course, you'd have to listen to our orders, but if you do, I can guarantee not only a duel, but a victory against him."

The hooded man smiled. "Alright, Payne. You've got a deal..."

* * *

At the Duel Shrine, Blake had arrived a short while after Justin. He hid among the trees, watching as Justin left his cards there and prayed to the Duel Goddess to make his deck better. The kid stared at his deck for a few more minutes, and then left the area.

Once he was sure that the kid was gone, Blake came out of hiding and stood before the statue that housed Justin's deck.

"Maybe the kid's got the right idea... Maybe I should do the same. I mean, my deck couldn't do much against Trina."

He started to think about it. _'I want an answer. What is it that she wanted me to figure out?'_

It just didn't make any sense. His deck was pretty good, and he had to go through so much trouble just to beat her. He looked through his deck, examining his cards.

After a few minutes, he got to Combat Wheel. He thought about how he got that card.

_"Wow! Thanks for the card, dad! Why didn't you keep it?" a young Blake asked his dad._

_"Because its just not my style, son. The cards they give me are good, but I'm not a big fan of them." his father replied._

_"Why not, dad? These cards are pretty good. And they are a lot like the stuff you see in the military!"_

_His father chuckled. "True, son, but I'm not such a big fan of the weapons. You see, what I like is the teamwork. How all of us work together to help each other out, as well as complete our objective. That's why I don't like those cards that they've given me. They are a one-man army, and I just don't approve of that. However, if you can find some good use for those cards, then by all means, go ahead." his father explained._

"A one-man army..." he muttered as he looked at cards like Machine King, Combat Wheel, and other cards in his deck with similar effects.

"I think I see what she meant. These cards are pretty weak themselves, and unless there's other monsters on the field, their strength is pretty limited. They have to _use_ others to get stronger, or else they aren't able to last very long...

"She said my strength was limited as well, and that if I don't learn to rely on the strength of my teammates, then I won't be able to win..."

Blake had gotten a good idea of what to look for from the guy he'd meet at the Bootleg, but there was still one more thing he felt he had to do. First, he made sure that there was no one around. Once the coast was clear, he grabbed Justin's deck and added in a few cards.

"I sure hope these cards help the kid out. Now to get out of here before anyone sees me..."

* * *

Blake drove through the Downtown District.

He drove into an alley, stopping before a small building that seemed to be a small house made of bricks. The area was pretty deserted, and the place seemed to be dimly lit.

He walked inside, taking note of the fact that most of the few people that were here all had criminal marks. Though he knew not to judge someone by the criminal mark on their face, he also knew that this part of town didn't have the best people, and he should be careful.

He sat down at a table at the farthest and darkest corner of the bar, and waited there patiently.

After about ten minutes, someone else walked in, and sat down before Blake.

Blake examined the man. He seemed to be older than him, and was also bald. He wore a shady outfit, sunglasses, and had a black wool cap over his head.

"Are you Blake?" the man asked.

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'm Matthew. Trevor sent me. He said you needed new cards. What happened? I thought that deck of yours was pretty good."

"I was beaten." Blake said, a little annoyed.

"Judging by that tone of voice, it must have been _very_ humiliating. Especially if its making you rethink your whole strategy."

Blake rolled his eyes in response.

"Alright, alright, I get it. Its a sore spot for you. Okay, do you have any idea what you want to get?" he asked.

"Somewhat. Why?"

"Because getting these cards won't be easy. You need to know what you want, so you can get them and get out. _Fast_."

"Is it really that hard to get these cards?" Blake wondered.

"Well, since you want _rare_ cards, the answer is yes. These are cards not seen in a duel in years. Ever since the appearance of Synchro Monsters, most people have forgotten about these cards, making them even more rare and hard to get. Currently, the only copies of these cards in all of Neo Domino are stored in Security Headquarters. Meaning, you'd have to go there if you want to get them." Matt explained.

"Alright... I get it. Now, what do I have to do?"

Matt handed him a fake I.D, an all-access security pass, and then showed him the blueprints of the whole Sector Security Building. "Okay, here's what you'll do..."

* * *

The sirens echoed throughout the large halls. Blake was desperately trying to reach his destination, which was the Storage Facility. He ran as fast as he could through the many confusing hallways, making sure to remember everything that Matt had told him.

_'Left. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Right...'_

Soon, he got to the end of the hallway, and now stood before a large door. _'This must be it...'_ he thought, running inside and then barricading the door just in case Security arrived a bit earlier.

He saw the large cabinets, each one containing rare Duel Monsters cards. _'Damn... This might take a little longer than I thought.'_

He looked back for a moment and then ran through the many aisles.

Five minutes had already passed, and he was still looking through many of the cabinets for cards he could use. _'Now I see why he asked me if I knew what it was that I was looking for...'_

At that moment, he could hear Security trying to get through the barricaded door. He had little time left, so he decided to make a run for it.

As he ran through the aisle, looking for an exit, he heard a strange noise. It sounded like the roar of a lion, but it was somewhat mechanical.

He felt curious, but knew that this wasn't the time to stop and look around. He had to go, so he decided to believe it was just his imagination, until he heard it again. Even worse, this time it sounded like the animal, or machine, was trying to say something.

"Did someone just ask for help?" he said out loud, causing the echoes to spread through the building.

"He's over there!" cried out one of the cops from afar, having tracked him down from the echo.

Now in a panic, Blake ran down the aisle where he heard the voice from.

This part of the place seemed to be needing maintenance, since the lights slowly dimmed out as he ran through.

After a while, he found himself in a dark hallway, with little light. At the end, he could see a little bright light. As he was about to keep going, he observed the area around him.

"Everything is quiet... And I can't hear the cops anymore... Did they stop chasing me?" He turned around to make sure this was true, but he found that there was nothing but darkness behind him. "Maybe that light is the exit. Either that, or its a trap... Still, I can't just stay here forever..."

Within minutes, he gets to the end, where there is a small cabinet, from which the light is coming. He opened it, and found a briefcase, which is where the light is truly coming from. "Its not locked..." he muttered as he opened it.

The briefcase was full of cards, all being the cause of the strange light. He blinked, and he found himself back where he was when he first heard that strange noise. Everything was quiet, and he noticed that he was still holding the briefcase.

He took the cards out and left the briefcase on the ground, not wanting to carry any extra weight as he decided to get away.

"Going somewhere?" said a deep voice from behind.

The power of his voice caused Blake to stand frozen in his tracks for a moment.

"You realize it'll be hard to get out of here with most of Security chasing after you, right?" he said.

"So, you aren't Security?" Blake asked.

"Not at all."

Blake sighed and turned around. Standing before him was a tall man, muscular, with red skin, long red hair, and purple-red wings on his back. He wore a red robe, like the kind used in Rome back when Rome was ruled by Julius Caesar.

"Who are you?" Blake wondered. It was already obvious that the man standing before him was not Security, and though he looked human, the red skin and the wings stated that he was not human either. "Or rather, what are you?"

"I am Mars. A messenger of the Olympian Gods. Though I was here to test you to see whether or not you were worthy to receive the powers of a God, I see now that its not possible. I mean, breaking into Security? Stealing? Such shameful actions cannot easily be ignored."

"Heh. I'm doing what I have to do. If I want to help in this war, I have to get stronger, don't I?" Blake stated.

"While that is true, this is not the way to go. Right now, I've placed a spell over this whole place. Time is motionless right now, but it won't be like that for long. I could easily put a stop to the spell and let Security catch you." Mars said.

"Then why don't you?"

"It is because of those cards you found. I feel a strange energy coming from them. The way you obtained them was obviously not normal, and I wish to see why. So, I want to duel you." Mars explained.

"And if I refuse?"

"How about a deal?" Mars said. "If you win before the spell wears off, I'll help you escape, and I'll take back what I said about you not being worthy. If I win, then you hand over those cards and have about 1 minute to get out of here before Security catches. If you refuse, then I'll leave, stop the spell, and let you figure out the rest."

Blake raised up his duel disk. "In that case, I'll take your challenge! I'll be getting out of here without being caught!"

"Duel!" they said in unison, their duel disks activating.

(4000-4000)

"You may begin." said Mars.

"Gladly." Blake replied. He drew a card and looked at his hand. He held Machine Duplication, Cannon Wheel, Future Fusion, DUCKER Mobile Cannon, Shining Angel, and Machina Armored Unit.

"I'll start by activating the continuous spell card, Future Fusion! By sending from my deck to my graveyard the cards listed on a Fusion monster, I can special summon that monster on my second standby phase after activating this card." He took two cards from his deck and put them in the graveyard slot.

"Now, I summon Shining Angel in defense mode!" An angel appeared on the field, wearing a white robe robes. (1400/800)

"I end my turn with that."

(4000-4000)

"From Machines to Fairies? That's quite a strategy change. It won't matter, though. I'll get rid of them easily.

"I summon Gladiator Beast Retiari in defense mode!" A large, muscular, humanoid fish appeared on the field, wielding a trident and wearing black and gold armor. (1200/800)

"Next, since I control a 'Gladiator Beast', I can special summon Test Tiger from my hand!" A small tiger wearing red and orange armor appeared on the field. (600/300)

"Heh. Congrats. You've got two monsters that can't beat mine." Blake stated.

Mars smiled. "Their aim is not to defeat you. I activate Test Tiger's effect. I can tribute him to send a 'Gladiator Beast' on my field back to my deck and special summon another from my deck." Test Tiger and Retiari disappeared from the field. Then, a small lizard monster appeared on the field, wearing light blue armor and standing on two legs. (400/300)

"Gladiator Beast Secutor, attack Shining Angel!" Mars commanded.

"Are you mad? You'll only hurt yourself!"

Secutor jumped at Shining Angel, attempting to kill him, but Shining Angel quickly stood up and kicked him back to his side of the field.

"True, but at the end of the Battle Phase, if he attacks or is attacked, Secutor can go back to my deck and special summon two other 'Gladiator Beasts' from my deck, as long as he himself was summoned by a 'Gladiator Beast'."

"Let me guess. Test Tiger has an effect that lets you meet those requirements?" Blake asked.

"Indeed it does. Now meet Gladiator Beast Hoplomus and Gladiator Beast Laquari!" A large, muscular, humanoid tiger appeared on the field, wearing red armor that was literally on fire. (1800/400)-(2100/400)

Next to Laquari, was Hoplomus. This one was a large, muscular, humanoid hippo with a heavy armor and floating reflector shields. (700/2100)-(700/2400)

"Wait. Why did their points go up?" Blake wondered.

"When a Laquari is summoned by the effect of a 'Gladiator Beast', his attack points become 2100. When Hoplomus is summoned by the effect of a 'Gladiator Beast', his defense points become 2400. Anyways, I'll just set two cards and end my turn."

(4000-3600)

"I see... You sacrificed a few Life Points, but in the end, you got a powerful attacker and a powerful defender on your field..." said Blake as he drew a card.

"I'll set a monster on the field, and end my turn."

(4000-3600)

"I see my deck has already begun to overwhelm you." Mars said, laughing.

"I summon Gladiator Beast Andal in attack mode!" A large bear appeared on the field, wearing purple armor. (1900/1500)

"Andal, destroy his Shining Angel!" The large beast hovered over the angel, and then smashed its claws into him, crushing him.

"When Shining Angel is destroyed, I get to special summon a LIGHT monster with 1500 or less ATK from my deck, like Y-Dragon Head!" A red mechanical dragon appeared on the field, screeching as it stared at the opponent's monsters. (1500/1600)

_'I see... So it wasn't a fairy deck at all. Now I get it...'_ Mars thought.

"Too bad its about to be destroyed! If there's one thing I know about Shining Angel, its that the monster he summons is summoned in attack mode! Laquari, attack his Y-Dragon Head!" Laquari created a fireball in its hands, and shot it at the machine, causing it to explode.

"Now that that's done, I'll contact fuse my monsters! By sending Laquari, Hoplomus, and Andal back to my deck, to fusion summon Gladiator Beast Heraklinos!" The three monsters disappeared from the field, replaced by a tall, muscular, Beast-Warrior, who held a golden axe, a powerful golden shield, and armor made out of different parts of the armor of the other 'Gladiator Beasts'. (3000/2800)

"I end my turn with that."

(3400-3600)

Blake drew his next card. It was V-Tiger Jet.

"Its been two turns, so I can special summon Labyrinth Tank through the effect of Future Fusion!" A large blue tank armed with many drills and hidden weapons appeared on the field. (2400/2400)

"Next, I'll flip summon DUCKER Mobile Cannon to activate his effect!" A small machine with two legs and a couple of cannons on its body appeared on the field. (500/500)

"When this card is flipped, I can add a level 4 monster from my graveyard and add it to my hand." He took the Y-Dragon Head from his graveyard and added it to his hand.

"To continue, I'll activate the spell card, Machine Duplication. I can select 1 Machine-Type monster with 500 attack points or less on my field and special summon up to two more monsters with the same name from my deck." Two more DUCKER Mobile Cannons appeared on the field in defense mode.

Blake smirked. "Looks like you aren't the only one who can swarm the field! Anyways, its your move."

(3400-3600)

"I can see that. Too bad it only means you are prolonging your own defeat!" stated Mars.

"I summon Gladiator Beast Murmillo in attack mode!" A small blue fish appeared on the field, with a couple of small turbines on its back. (800/400)

"Attack one of his cannons!" Murmillo jumped on one of the machines and punched a hole through it, causing it to explode.

"Heraklinos, destroy his tank!" Heraklinos swung his axe down onto the large tank, crushing it completely.

"Now the effect of Murmillo activates, allowing me to send him back to my deck to bring out Gladiator Beast Hoplomus!" The small fish disappeared, and once again, the living wall known as Hoplomus made his appearance. (700/2100)-(700/2400)

"I end my turn."

(3400-3600)

Blake drew Magnet Circle LV 2. _'Good. This can help.'_

"I'll summon V-Tiger Jet in defense mode, and end my turn." A small machine (a jet in the shape of a tiger) appeared on the field. (1600/1800)

(3400-3600)

"Stalling won't help you much. I summon Gladiator Beast Samnite in attack mode!" A muscular humanoid white tiger appeared on the field, wearing black armor. He held a glowing sword and a strong rectangular shield. (1600/1200)

"Attack the last of his cannons!" The last two DUCKER Mobile Cannons exploded violently as the Gladiator Beasts crushed them to pieces.

"Your turn."

(3400-3600)

Blake drew another card and quickly activated it.

"I play Reload! This spell card allows me to send the cards in my hand back to my deck and draw the same number of cards."

He drew again and looked at his new hand. It was made up of Divine Wrath, Cyber Repairer, Battle Fusion, and Old Model to the Frontline.

"I activate Old Model to the Frontline! This spell card allows me to special summon a Machine-Type monster from my graveyard! I'll use it to bring back Labyrinth Tank!" Once again, Labyrinth Tank appeared on the field. (2400/2400)

"Attack Samnite!" The large tank revealed a hidden compartment in which it housed its missiles, and shot one at the beast, destroying it.

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(3400-2800)

"You'd best give it up. My monsters will soon be too much for you to handle, and then you'll be defeated.

"I summon Gladiator Beast Equeste in attack mode." A centaur wearing blue armor appeared on the field. (1600/1200)

"Also, I equip him with Gladiator Beast's Battle Gladius. This equip spell grants him an extra 300 attack points." Equeste grabbed the sword, and began to glow as his attack points rose to 1900.

"Destroy his Tiger Jet!" As Equeste began to attack, Blake's trap revealed itself.

"I activate Cyber Repairer. You get to draw a card, but in return, my Machin-Type monsters can't be destroyed by battle!"

"In which case, I'll activate the effect of Heraklinos. By discarding one card, I can negate the activation of one of your spell or trap cards, and destroy it!"

Blake smirked. "By doing that, you've activated the effect of my other trap card, Divine Wrath! By discarding one card, I can negate the activation of an effect monster's effect and destroy it!" He discarded his Battle Fusion.

"Damn it!" cursed Mars as the chain began to dissolve, destroying his monster. "You'll pay for that!"

"And since Cyber Repairer wasn't destroyed, it means that my monster won't be destroyed by your attack!"

Equeste tried to cut through V-Tiger Jet's armor, but was pushed back by the machine.

"I'll activate Equeste's effect, sending him back to my deck to special summon Gladiator Beast Laquari once again!" Equeste turned into an orb of light, whose form became that of Laquari. Within seconds, Laquari stopped glowing, having materialized on the field. (1800/400)-(2100/400)

"Also, through its own effect, Gladiator Beast's Battle Gladius returned to my hand, so I can re-equip it onto Laquari." Laquari grabbed the gladius, his attack points rising to 2400. He was now evenly matched with Blake's tank.

"Your turn."

(3400-2800)

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. I'll return five monsters in my graveyard to my deck, and then draw 2 cards." He took out all three DUCKER Mobile Cannons, Shining Angel, and Giga-Tech Wolf.

He looked at the two cards he drew. Limiter Removal and Call of the Haunted.

"I activate the quickplay spell, Limiter Removal! This allows me to double my Machine-Type monsters' attack points for this turn, though they'll be destroyed at the end of my turn." he explained. Labyrinth Tank's attack points rose to 4800, and V-Tiger Jet's attack points became 3200.

Mars looked at the cards on his field. _'Damn it... I can't believe this bastard has actually defeated me! Someone so unworthy of receiving the powers of a God has actually defeated me!'_ he thought. _'The only card I've got set is Parry. Since he activated a spell card, my counter trap is useless!'_

"Tank, attack his Laquari!" Labyrinth Tank opened its hidden compartment once again, and fired off a missile at Laquari, the resulting explosion clearing the field for a direct attack.

"V-Tiger Jet, attack him directly!" V-Tiger Jet rammed into him, reducing his Life Points to zero.

The monsters faded away, and Blake walked towards Mars, who was staring at the cards he had in his hand.

_'I could have prevented him from defeating me with these cards. That should teach me not to rely too much on Heraklinos' effect...'_

"That was a good duel." Blake said.

"Indeed it was." Mars replied. "As per our deal, I shall now help you escape." He stretched out his hand and put it directly in front of Blake's face. In the blink of an eye, everything went dark.

Blake awoke next to his Duel Runner, inside the garage. "What happened?" he asked as he rubbed his head. For a moment, he thought it had just been a dream, but when he saw the card in his hand, he knew all of that had been real.

"VWXYZ... Dragon Catapult Cannon..."

**End of Chapter 16.

* * *

**

_Team Inferno learns a few things about Yliaster from the Signers. Meanwhile, the Titans don't seem to rest. In their quest to win this war, they look for even more duelists. Things may look peaceful now, but its just the quiet before the storm. Setting Up The Pieces is next. _


	17. Chapter 17: Setting up the Pieces

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

A/N: Made a slight change to this chapter, as I have been dissatisfied with it for quite a while.

* * *

**Chapter 17: Setting Up The Pieces**

The day started slowly for Team Inferno. Zeke was currently cleaning all of the dishes, since everyone had already had their breakfast. Blake, who now had some bandages wrapped around his right arm, was sitting in the living room, watching some television. He seemed to be in somewhat of a foul mood, and it seemed to have some connection with the bandages around his arm.

Casey had come back from her room and sat down in the living room, though she kept her distance from Blake.

Though he noticed that she had sat down, he decided it was best for the time being to just ignore her.

After some awkward silences, Casey decided to speak up. "Listen, I-"

"I don't want to hear it." Blake said, cutting her off.

"But-"

Though Casey was about to say something, she was cut off before she could speak. This time, by Zeke, who had just entered the room and jumped on the couch, sitting down next to Blake. "So, what's going on in Neo Domino today?"

"I don't know." replied Blake. "Its not like we've been able to pay much attention to the news lately..."

Blake was about to change the channel, but then a thought entered his head. 'Wait... The news? I can't let them see that!'

His mind went back to yesterday, and all the events that took place during then. If he were to let them see the news, he'd most likely be found out once they saw his new deck. There was no other choice... He had to get them out into the city, and keep them distracted until the news of the break-in dies down.

"Hey guys, I heard that the Kurumizawa Hobby Shop is hosting some kind of competition. Want to go check it out?" he asked them.

Zeke shrugged. "Alright. Don't have much we can do here, so why not?"

"Sure..." muttered Casey, who was now annoyed by Blake's mood.

Zeke just looked at them, sighed, and got up. "Let's go."

* * *

All the way in Satellite, deep inside B.A.D, was an old building. This place is, at times, empty. However, every once in a while, there's some thugs and criminals who use this place to either hide in while they are chased by Security, or as a base for their criminal activities. Recently, the latter was the case.

The building itself wasn't too big. It was about four stories tall. It had the power turned on, though it was just enough for necessity, since using too much power in an abandoned building would attract too much attention. Stuff like computers and a small television is what the power was used for. Everything else, such as lighting, needed to be improvised. For instance, they used candles or flashlights when they needed to see.

The desks around the building were old and rotten, though some were sturdy enough to be used. The same could be said of the tables. Couches and chairs there were extremely dirty, but were still comfortable. One could assume that some of the previous inhabitants probably changed some of the furniture, for the old one might have been far too old to be of any use.

There were also few rooms that were now being used as a place to rest in. These also had slightly newer mattresses than one would expect to find in here.

At the moment, inside a room on the third floor of the building, there was a group of people sitting around a table. There was a total of five people sitting at the table, with one laying against a nearby wall.

The first person was a young man with short, spiky black hair, dressed in dark clothes. He had two scars on his face and a marker that went across his right eye. It was none other than Kaiser.

The identity of two of the people sitting at the table was concealed. One of them, however, was wearing the same clothes as the man who had tried to beat up Justin the day earlier, before Blake stopped him.

The fourth one had fiery red hair, and it seemed like it was actually on fire at times. He had an arrogant, hot-headed personality, and was pretty impatient. Right now, he seemed to be annoyed. He was Hikazu Minato, though much better known as 'Blaze'.

The last one was an odd young man. He was only a few years older than Kaiser. He had short blond hair, cut straight across. He wore a pair of rectangular glasses, which amplified the color of his blue eyes. His name was Kichigai.

The man laying against the wall approached them.

"There's currently five of you here. However, we need more." he said.

"More, Payne? Seems like you guys really want to overkill these guys." replied Blaze.

"The Titans suffered a lot from their loss against the Olympian Gods." stated Kaiser. "Therefore, we need to overwhelm them with a large amount of forces. We may outnumber them, and thus be able to claim victory, but the Titans want them to be humiliated."

"What Kaiser said. We gave them a chance to get ready and fight back on equal terms. If they can't defeat us that way, then just imagine the loss of morale for the Olympian Gods. The Titans will surely be able to get the revenge they desire." Payne explained.

"Anyways," he added. "Two of the people we originally recruited for this team have been reassigned to North America. It seems that those criminals you first caught, Kaiser, were the only ones capable to turning the tide of battle over there to our favor. Due to this, we need to quickly increase the strength of our team."

With that, he left the room, letting each of the people in there to do as they pleased.

Kaiser began to play with a card in his hands, spinning it around in complete boredom.

Hikazu approached him, wanting to speak to him. "So, how does it feel?"

"How does what feel?"

"You know, being a sellout. You, a criminal, decided to hunt down criminals in exchange for a 'Get out of Jail Free' card. It must be horrible to know that, and then to know that the very criminals you hunted down are free."

Kaiser glared at him. "Either get to the damn point, or you can shut it."

"The point is that you, who gave some of his time to catch criminals in the name of all that is good, are now by their side, working together with them to bring this world to its knees! Do you feel no shame, you lousy piece of-!"

Within seconds, Kaiser's hand was wrapped around Hikazu's neck. "I have my own reasons. Just focus on yours, and we'll get through this war with one less casualty than what is needed." he said, loosening his grip and leaving the room.

"My, my... I didn't think the Elementals would be fighting each other like this. Seems to be some bad blood between you two." said the hooded man as Hikazu rubbed his neck.

"Don't tempt me, Takahiro." threatened Hikazu as he also left the room.

At the same time, Kichigai left in Kaiser's direction, not saying a word.

Takahiro watched him leave, and waited until he was out of earshot before he spoke. "Weird kid. I'm wondering what kind of deck he uses..."

"I don't know, either. Still, I feel something strange about him. Something tells me he's much more dangerous than he looks." replied the cloaked man, who was the only other person left in the room.

"Really? Well, I'd still like to see him duel. Who knows? He may actually be better than our own leader."

The cloaked man laughed. "Better? Be careful of what you say. True, the Elementals are weaker than us, but they have their uses. Plus, Kaiser is our leader, and he's an Elemental. For an Elemental to be higher ranked than us shows how strong he really is."

"You got a point there..."

"Anyways, I want to talk to you about something. However, now is not the right time, since we have things to do. Just know that I want to have a word with you..." stated the cloaked man as he left the room.

Takahiro shrugged, and left the room as well.

* * *

Kaiser was currently in the hallway in the second floor, laying against wall. He was staring at the card in his hand, and he stood there as if he was waiting for something. The footsteps were getting closer, and in a few minutes, Kichigai appeared into the lit area of the hallway.

"Following me or something, Kichigai?" Kaiser asked.

"Nice card." he replied.

"Thanks."

"Do you value it?" he asked.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because if you do, then I suggest you get rid of it quickly. It will not do you any good to have anything of value. Like your locket." he said.

"I know the risks..." replied Kaiser.

"Its not that..." Kichigai said, taking the card from him and putting it closer to Kaiser's face. "If you value it, then make sure it doesn't lose its value."

Kaiser looked even closer at the card, and noticed a few ice crystals on it.

"The more you do this, the more the Titan will connect to you. If you really want it to keep its value, you'll get rid of it before it is completely frozen..." Kichigai explained, handing him back the card and going back to his room.

Kaiser stared at him for a moment as he left, then turned his attention to the card.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hikazu was currently lying down on a couch in the first floor. "Damn it! Kaiser thinks he's above me! I'll show that smug, arrogant bastard who's truly superior!"

Takahiro. who had just come down and heard him, walked into the room laughing. "If you really think so, then why don't you do something about it?"

Hikazu looked at him. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of our business? Besides, I think you and I both know I can't just go and start a fight with him."

"Who said anything about a fight? I was merely suggesting to prove to the Titans that you are better than him." he explained.

"How do I do that?" Hikazu wondered.

"Why don't you go and take out one of the Olympian Duelists, like Kaiser did? I'm sure the Titans would see you in a more positive light if you did."

Hikazu thought about it. "Good point. Still, I'll do even better than Kaiser. I'll actually eliminate two of them. After all, if I do this, then I'll lower the amount of duelists we need for this region, and increase the amount we can send as aid to the ones fighting elsewhere around the world."

"Exactly." said Takahiro, nodding and then leaving the room.

"Not only that, but once I beat Kaiser and knock him down a little, I'll be the one leading this war, and I can finally get what I want..." he whispered to himself.

* * *

Elsewhere, outside of Yusei's apartment, which was known as 'Poppo Time', Yusei and his friends were conversing with Team Inferno.

Team Inferno had barely gotten close to the Kurumizawa Hobby Shop when Zeke spotted Yusei, who was in town to pick up some parts for his Duel Runner. Zeke, deciding it would be refreshing to see how others are doing, approached him. Eventually, their talking led them over here, to Yusei's apartment, where Casey, Blake, and Zeke were now talking with Yusei, Crow, Akiza, and Jack.

"So, there's a war going on right now between the Titans and the Olympian Gods?" Jack said with an aura of skepticism. He honestly couldn't believe this was happening, especially with him and his friends having to fight against Yliaster.

"Can we really believe that?" wondered Crow. "I mean, we are dealing with Yliaster so that we may protect this place. I find it hard to believe that there's more than one group of people seeking to destroy Neo Domino."

Zeke nodded. "True. However, the Titans, from what we've learned, are incredibly crafty. Seeing how this place is already someone's target, they must have figured that it would be easier take us down. As you already know, we've helped you guys in your previous battle, and if we were to help you this time, they could attack Neo Domino with a full-on assault while its defenses are weakened."

Yusei nodded, agreeing with his theory. "You've got a point there... Are you guys sure you can handle this?" he asked them, feeling concerned for their safety.

"Yeah." stated Blake. "Don't worry. We'll be perfectly fine."

Jack noticed the bandages around Blake's arm. "What happened to your arm?"

Blake rolled his eyes, smirking a bit. "Casey overreacted when I got home last night. She thought Akira had arrived, and tackled me. We hit the wall, causing a vase on a nearby table to fall off and break into pieces. One of those pieces just happened to get caught in my arm."

Blake's mood had actually improved during their talk with Team 5D's. He was no longer mad at Casey, though he quietly attributed this to his overwhelming fear of getting caught for stealing from Security HQ.

"We took him to the hospital, though. They managed to fix him up quickly enough, and said he'd be fine in a few days." added Casey.

Jack, Yusei, and Crow actually found this to be somewhat funny, and chuckled amongst themselves. Casey, Blake, and Zeke also found this slightly funny, but didn't act on that. Blake, now thinking back on it, silently agreed that it was a little funny. If it wasn't for the amount of fear that coursed through his body when he saw the puddle of blood on the floor, he probably wouldn't have been mad at her at all.

Yusei cleared his throat, and spoke again. "Right now, we've learned that Yliaster has much more power than we thought. They've actually rewritten history and made themselves part of the WRGP."

"Yeah. We've seen them duel already. They beat Team The Arm and Team Black Baron." added Jack. "Problem is, we can't seem to find any information on them and their decks."

"Its true what they are saying." Zeke assured them. He was checking on his cell phone the news about this, and when he checked the rankings, he was amazed to find no record of their decks, despite all their previous victories. He showed it to Casey, who still couldn't believe it.

"Chances are that the Gods that are watching over you prevented you guys from forgetting anything about this, but it seems that was all they could do." Yusei said, though he wasn't fully sure about this.

"Possibly." said Zeke.

"Anyways, this just means that you guys need to be careful about this. If they can change history, who knows what might happen once they become desperate?" Blake added.

"If they become desperate. I think we know enough to say that these guys are pretty strong in terms of determination." Zeke replied.

"Oh well. I guess its fine. It just means we can focus on the war that's about to come. I just hope neither of us gets caught in each others' crossfire." stated Casey.

"I agree." said Yusei, the others agreeing too.

"So, Akira's not back from his trip yet?" Yusei asked.

Zeke shook his head. "Nah. He hasn't. Even worse, we haven't received a call from him in a while. Makes me wonder just how hard it is to get that power that the Egyptian Gods wanted to give him..."

"I just hope he's alright." added Casey, feeling worried.

"I'm sure he'll be fine." Akiza told her, trying to help her feel better.

"So, whatever happened with you guys? Why didn't you move on in the WRGP?" Crow asked.

"We were eliminated." stated Blake.

"How so? I thought your duel ended in a draw." wondered Jack.

"It did. Therefore, they ruled it as a loss for each team, and both teams were eliminated from the competition." Zeke explained.

"Anyway, if you guys don't mind, we have to get ready for our next duel in the WRGP." Yusei said.

"Not at all. We'll get out of your way." said Blake.

They all said their goodbyes and headed back home, since it was already too late to go to the Kurumizawa Hobby Shop. Its closing hours were usually about this time in the afternoon, and if they tried to go there now, they would never make it in time.

* * *

As they rode down the highway, things were pretty quiet.

They thought it would just be a simple drive back to their apartment, but they were wrong. Halfway there, a mysterious duelist on a fire-red Duel Runner caught up to them. He pushed Zeke out of the way and into a lower duel lane.

Casey and Blake saw this and tried to get away, but this turbo duelist was too smart for them. Using Sector Security technology, he activated Speed World 2 and forced their Duel Runners to activate, wanting them to duel him.

"Here's how it will go down, Olympians!" said the mysterious duelist. "I'm going to take you both on in a duel. You guys will have 4000 Life Points each, and since its two against one, I'll have 8000 Life Points!"

"What if we refuse, you maniac?" Blake asked.

"Refusing is not an option. You see, there's a bomb planted on this bridge. It is currently counting down to zero, but nothing will happen until a victor has been decided. If I win, the bomb not only goes off, but I'll also be taking you guys as my prisoners. If you win, the bomb won't go off, and you'll be free to go." he explained.

"You are making a big mistake, pal!" yelled Casey. "We'll not only beat you, but you'll have to answer to Sector Security for this!"

"Duel!"

In his office, on the fourth floor of the abandoned building that was now the base for the Titans, was Payne. He was sitting down before his desk, setting up a chessboard and putting all the pieces in their place.

"Today, we've finally collected all the pieces. Now its up to them to determine the outcome of this war..."

**End of chapter 17.

* * *

**

_Hikazu has forced the Olympian Duelists to duel him in an attempt to have his teammates treat him with the respect he deserves. Though he may be arrogant and hot-headed, he knows how to duel, and he won't be holding back against Casey and Blake. Can Casey and Blake take down his deck, or will it be too hot for them to handle? Find out in: Two-Man Cell Battle!_


	18. Chapter 18: Two Man Cell Battle!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

A/N: This is the first time a try a duel with more than two duelists. Hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Two-Man Cell Battle!**

Hikazu Minato, one of the Elementals and also a Titan, had pulled a risky stunt to become a stronger and more powerful member of his group. To do this, he went so far as to sneak up on Team Inferno and force both Casey and Blake to duel him. The duel would be two against one, with Hikazu having twice as many Life Points due to being outnumbered.

Though Casey and Blake did not want to duel, Hikazu gave them an ultimatum. They could either duel him and win, thus being free to go, or refuse and leave, in which case, a bomb that was planted on the highway earlier would go off, taking their lives as well as the highway.

Having no other choice, they reluctantly agreed to duel, while Zeke was forced to merely observe the duel from afar and hope that his friends can win.

"Alright! Let's duel!" they said.

(4000/4000-8000) [0/0:0]

"I think I'll start first!" said Hikazu.

"I'll start by setting two cards on the field, and summon UFO Turtle in defense mode!" A turtle with a metal shell appeared on the field, quickly withdrawing into it as a form of defense. (1400/1200)

"Your move."

(4000/4000-8000) [1/1:1]

Now, it was Blake's turn.

He drew a card and looked at his hand. He held Nanobreaker, X-Head Cannon, Fusion Guard, Shining Angel, Trigon, and Reckless Greed.

"I'll start by setting one card on the field, and summoning Shining Angel in attack mode!" Shining Angel appeared on the field, ready to battle. (1400/800)

"Attack his UFO Turtle!" Shining Angel hit the mechanical turtle with a powerful kick, which caused it to explode. Obviously, it was replaced by another through its effect.

"I activate the continuous trap card, Backfire! Now, whenever a Fire monster is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you take 500 points of damage!"

The trap shot out a fireball at Blake, hitting him directly.

"That's it for my turn."

(4000/3500-8000) [2/2:2]

Casey drew a card and scanned her hand. She held The Dragon's Bead, Mirage Dragon, Masked Dragon, Educated Spellcaster, Marauding Captain, and Command Knight.

"I'll also set a card, and summon Masked Dragon in attack mode!" Masked Dragon appeared on the field, staring at the UFO Turtle with its glowing yellow eyes. (1400/1100)

"Attack UFO Turtle!" The dragon crushed the machine with his claws, only to have another one appear on the field.

Backfire glowed and shot out a fireball at Casey, but Blake's set card activated.

"I activate the counter trap, Fusion Guard! By sending a random fusion monster from my fusion deck to my graveyard when you activate a card that inflicts damage, I can negate it!"

"Thanks, Blake." Casey said.

Blake smiled at her. "No problem. Now let's hurry up and beat this guy."

"Yeah. I end my turn."

(4000/3500-8000) [3/3:3]

"Though those were some good moves, copying me will get you nowhere!" Hikazu said.

"I summon The Thing in the Crater!" A large beast made out of lava appeared on the field. (1000/1200)

"Attack Shining Angel!" The beast attacked Shining Angel, only to get kicked back, and then shattering into pixels.

"Why would you do that?" Blake asked.

"Because, when its destroyed, I get to special summon a Pyro-Type monster from my hand. Like Volcanic Hammerer!" A large hulking monster, one that resembled a dinosaur, appeared on the field, its rocky body being held together by its super-hot gold armor. (2400/1500)

Meanwhile, Shining Angel was replaced by Y-Dragon Head. (1400/1600)

"Next, UFO Turtle, attack Masked Dragon!" The machine and the dragon collided, killing each other off. The dragon was replaced by another Masked Dragon, but the machine was replaced by a fiery dragon, known well as Solar Flare Dragon. (1500/1000)

"Let's not forget that since Fire monsters on my field were destroyed, you guys will each take 500 points of damage!" Backfire shot out two fireballs, which hit Blake and Casey.

"I'll end my turn now, which will cause Solar Flare Dragon's effect to activate, making you take 500 more points of damage!" The dragon spit out a fireball at Casey, hitting her directly.

(3000/3000-7600) [4/4:4]

Blake drew a card and began his turn. "Damn it, Casey! We need to hurry up and beat this guy, cause at this rate, we'll be beaten in no time!"

"I know!"

"I'll set one card on the field, and summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode!" X-Head Cannon, which was a blue robot with two large arms and two high-tech cannons on his shoulders, appeared on the field. (1800/1500)

"Next, I'll remove them from play to fusion summon XY-Dragon Cannon!" X-Head Cannon attached itself to Y-Dragon Head, becoming the fusion monster known as XY-Dragon Cannon. (2200/1900)

"Now, I'll activate its effect! By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one of your face-up spell or trap cards! Such as Backfire!" XY-Dragon Cannon aimed its cannons at the trap card and fired, destroying it.

"That's it for me. Go ahead, Casey!"

(3000/3000-7600) [5/5:5]

Casey looked at Blake's monsters as she began her turn. _'When did he get those? I didn't know they were part of his deck.'_

"I summon Marauding Captain, in defense mode!" Maruding Captain leapt onto the field, shielding himself with his swords. (1200/400)

"Next, I'll use his effect to special summon Educated Spellcaster from my hand." The small tuner appeared on the field, looking a little smaller than usual due to standing next to Masked Dragon. (1000/100)

"Now, I'll tune them together!" Educated Spellcaster became three green rings that floated around Marauding Captain as he dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"A true warrior stands his ground! He charges to the rescue, to protect those he cares about! Synchro Summon! Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!"_

The monster once known as Gaia the Fierce Knight appeared on the field, looking much stronger than ever, even wearing some upgraded armor and using upgraded weapons. (2600/800)

"Destroy his Volcanic Hammerer!" The warrior charged at the volcanic beast, stabbing through it with his lance. The beast exploded, and the resulting explosion caused Hikazu to lose Life Points.

"And since your Backfire was destroyed, you can't use its effect anymore!" said Blake.

"I end my turn." said Casey.

(3000/3000-7500) [6/6:6]

"Though you runts managed to destroy my trap card, don't think that this is over!" said Hikazu as he began his turn.

"Since I have more than 2 speed counters, I can activate the speed spell, Synchro Defuse! This allows me to take control of one of your synchro monsters for this turn, like your Gaia!"

Casey's Gaia Knight galloped onto Hikazu's field.

"Lucky for you, I can't attack with him. However, I wasn't planning on it. I summon Flamvell Baby!" The small sprite appeared on the field, floating around. (800/200)

"Now I'll tune them together!" Flamvell Baby turned into a green ring that revolved around Gaia Knight, who then became six glowing stars.

_"Burn with the fires of a thousand suns! The ancient master of fire rises once again, like the a phoenix resurrects from its ashes! Synchro Summon! Ancient Flamvell Deity!"_

The monster that appeared was scary. It was a large hulking beast. It was very tall, and it was covered in armor, with fire escaping from all of the cracks. (2500/200)

"I activate his effect. When he's summoned, I can remove from play a number of cards equal to the number of cards in your hand, and then he gains 200 points for each one!" He pointed to Casey, and three of her monsters were ejected from the graveyard slot. She took them and put them in her pocket, causing Ancient Flamvell Deity's attack points to become 3100.

"Destroy XY-Dragon Cannon!" The large monster fired a fireball at the machine, which caused it to explode.

"Now, Solar Flare Dragon, attack him directly!" Solar Flare Dragon shot out a fireball at Blake, hitting him directly.

"I end my turn, and Solar Flare Dragon shall cause you to lose another 500 Life Points!"

(3000/100-7500) [7/7:7]

"Blake!" Casey cried out.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. We can beat this guy if we just concentrate on working together, like we did last turn." Blake replied as he began his turn.

Casey nodded.

"I activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted! This allows me to special summon a monster from my graveyard to the field!" Blake's trap activated, opening a portal from which a large machine appeared. It looked somewhat like XY-Dragon Cannon, but those two seemed to only make up part of its body. It was many cannons and weapons on its body. (3000/2800)

"Meet VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!"

Everyone around him was surprised to see it.

_'I didn't know he had _that_ in his deck!' _thought Casey.

Zeke, who was watching from a nearby lane, was also surprised. "What the hell did Blake do to his deck?"

Hikazu, though surprised, wasn't worried. "Nice try! It seems you forgot that my monster is much stronger than yours!" he boasted.

"That may be true, but my monster has a nice effect! Once per turn, I can remove from play one card on your field!"

A horrified look overcame Hikazu's face as the machine blasted Ancient Flamvell Deity into oblivion.

"And he can still attack!" The machine shot a beam at Solar Flare Dragon, decimating it.

"I'll set a card on the field and end my turn."

(3000/100-6000) [8/8:8]

"That was amazing!" exclaimed Casey. "I didn't know you had that in your deck!"

Blake smiled. "Thanks. I guess we're even then. I didn't know you had that Gaia in your deck."

Casey looked at her hand. She held Delta Flier, Kunai with Chain, Mirage Dragon, and Command Knight.

"I set a card, and summon Delta Flier!" A small dragon with long wings and golden-brown skin appeared on the field. (1500/900)

"Thanks to his effect, I can raise the level of my Masked Dragon from 3 to 4. This allows me to tune them together!"

Delta Flier became three green rings that floated around Masked Dragon, who dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Let the power inside explode! Show the power of the bonds between friends! Synchro Summon! Shout it out, Exploder Dragonwing!"_

A large blue dragon appeared on the field. It had skinny legs and arms, its face resembled that of a fish, and had a large bulky tail. (2400/1600)

"Attack him directly!"

As Exploder Dragonwing was about to attack, one of Hikazu's traps activated. "I activate Firewall! As long as this trap is active on the field, I can remove from play one Pyro-Type monster in my graveyard and negate your attack!"

Exploder Dragonwing stayed on Casey's field, unable to attack.

"Damn you... I end my turn."

(3000/100-6000) [9/9:9]

"I must say, this is quite the duel."

Hikazu drew a card and started his turn, Firewall shooting a fireball at him.

"In order to keep Firewall active, I must pay 500 Life Points during my standby phase. Small price to pay to keep you two on hold."

He smiled as he looked through his hand.

"I summon Volcanic Slicer!" A monster that resembled a dinosaur appeared on the field. It was made up mostly of lava rocks and an armor similar to the one used by Volcanic Hammerer. (1800/1200)

"I use his effect. At the cost of not allowing him to attack, he can inflict 500 points of damage to you!" The monster spit out a fireball, which hit Casey directly.

Blake looked at what happened with curiosity. _'Why didn't he use that on me? Had he done that, he could have defeated me, since my Cyber Repairer wouldn't be able to stop it...'_

Hikazu's gaze switched to Blake. "Don't think you are off the hook for what you did! I activate the effect of the Volcanic Queen in my hand! I can sacrifice a monster on your field, and special summon her to your field!"

VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon went up in flames. The flames began to grow larger and hotter, until the machine wasn't even recognizable. Then, with a powerful screech, the flames were blown away. All that was left was a large dragon-like creature made up of lava rocks and magma. The 'hair' on its head was actually fire, which burned in the shape of a woman. (2500/1200)

"I set two cards and end my turn."

(2500/100-5500) [10/10-10]

Blake cursed in his head as he read the monster's effect. _'That bastard! This just limits what I can do! Even worse, now that my monster is gone, I can't summon him again...'_

"I summon DUCKER Mobile Cannon in defense mode!" The small machine appeared on the field, crouching down as if it were trying to blend in with its surroundings. (500/500)

"Volcanic Queen, attack his monster!"

"Nice try, but my Negate Attack will stop you in your tracks!" said Hikazu, preventing Blake from attacking.

"Alright then. I use Volcanic Queen's effect! By getting rid of the Cyber Repairer on my field, I can hit you with 1000 points of damage!" Volcanic Queen shot out a fireball at Hikazu, which hit him directly.

"Now I end my turn, and her other effect forces me to tribute my DUCKER Mobile Cannon." The small machine exploded as Volcanic Queen crushed it with her massive tail.

(2500/100-4500) [11/11:11]

Casey began her turn now. _'This guy sure is good at stalling. If we don't defeat him quickly, we might lose!'_

"I summon Mirage Dragon to the field!" A large yellow dragon with a ghostly body appeared on the field. (1600/600)

"Exploder Dragonwing, destroy his Volcanic Slicer!" The dragon crushed the volcanic monster beneath its powerful tail, and then hit Hikazu as well.

"When Exploder Dragonwing attacks a monster with equal or less attack points, I can use his effect to destroy that monster, and deal you damage equal to its attack points!

"And I'm not done yet! I use the effect of Speed World, removing 10 of my speed counters to destroy your firewall!" Hikazu growled a little as he saw his trap shatter into pieces.

"Now, Mirage Dragon, attack him directly!" Mirage Dragon attacked Hikazu with its claws and then retreated to Casey's side.

"I end my turn."

(2500/100-1100) [2/12:12]

"Alright. I see I've underestimated you, Olympians. However, do know that a Titan will not allow himself to be defeated by the likes of you!" exclaimed Hikazu.

"I start by summoning Fire Trooper!" A fiendish warrior with a flaming skull head appeared on the field. (1000/1000)

"I use his effect, allowing me to sacrifice him when he's summoned, so that you take 1000 points of damage!" The warrior turned into a large fireball and flew at Casey, hitting her hard.

"Next, I'll activate the trap card, Nightmare Wheel!" A large wheel appeared on top of Volcanic Queen, and attached itself to her.

"Not only is your monster unable to attack or change its battle position, but you take 500 points of damage during your standby phase!" he said with a cackling laugh.

"I special summon Inferno by removing from play a Fire monster in my graveyard." The raging flames known as the monster Inferno appeared on the field. (1100/1900)

"And to finish off this turn, I'll be using Speed World 2's effect! By removing 10 of my speed counters, your Exploder Dragonwing will do just that, explode!"

Cassey had a worried look on her face now. Not because of her's monster's destruction, but because of the fact that Blake was about to lose.

(1500/100-1100) [2/12:2]

As soon as Blake started his turn, he got ready for impact.

Volcanic Queen exploded violently, causing his Duel Runner to come to a screeching halt.

"Perfect! Now that he's gone, its up to you, Olympian!"

(1500/0-1100) [3/0:3]

Casey began her turn. She hoped with all her might that the next card could help her win.

_'Jackpot!'_

"I activate the speed spell, Explosion! When I have 2 or more speed counters, I can destroy a spell or trap on my field to change the battle position of one of your monsters!" The Dragon's Bead trap card on her field exploded, and Inferno switched into attack mode.

"Next, I'll activate the trap card, Kunai with Chain, and equip it to my monster to raise his attack points by 500!" Mirage Dragon grabbed the chain with his claws, holding it up until it was time to attack. His attack points were now 2100.

"Ha! Did you forget how to count? Even if you attack my monster, yours only has 1000 more attack points! Which means that I'll have 100 Life Points left, and when its my turn, you'll lose!" Hikazu boasted.

"I know that! Which is why I'm going to use the other speed spell in my hand. I activate the speed spell, Speed Energy! With this, my dragon gains 200 attack points for each speed counter I've got! Now, attack!" Mirage Dragon's attack points rose to 2700. It threw the chain, stabbing Inferno with it. As he pulled it out, the raging flames exploded, knocking Hikazu's Life Points down to zero.

His Duel Runner came to a sudden halt, and he began to curse as he hit it.

Blake caught up to Casey just then, as did Zeke.

"Awesome! You got him!" Blake said, celebrating.

"I see you finally used those cards in your deck. I didn't think you'd ever use them." Zeke added, laughing.

"Thanks. I couldn't have done it without your help though, Blake." she replied.

Zeke then turned towards Hikazu. "Alright, who are you, and why are you here?"

"I am Hikazu Minato. A Titan." the man replied. "I came here to try and eliminate you two from this war before it started. Sadly, it seems I failed..."

"You bastard, I thought this was supposed to be a fair battle! I can't believe this! You guys would actually turn your backs on everything you've said and do this? All because you want to ensure your victory? That's low!" stated Blake.

Just then, another person appeared out of nowhere. He walked up to the group, stepping in front of Hikazu. "Hikazu, I think its best if you leave now..."

Though Hikazu was about to fight him on this, a seriously pissed look from Kaiser made him think twice. "Alright, alright. I'm going..." he said. He mounted his Duel Runner and left.

Kaiser looked at the group standing before him. "I see my teammate gave you guys a bit of trouble." he said with a chuckle.

"I can't believe you guys! Is this really how you guys work? Sneaking up on us like this and eliminating us before the war begins?" Zeke asked.

Kaiser took out a card and threw it at him. Zeke caught it between his fingers and looked at it. "I don't know. You tell me..."

"You bastard... Where is he?" Zeke demanded to know, after seeing the Ancient Wizard card that Kaiser gave him.

Casey looked at the card that Zeke held, and was surprised as well. "Isn't that... Akira's card?"

"Akira's card?" Blake wondered. "If that's true, then how did Kaiser get it?"

Kaiser laughed. "Oh! Did I forget to give you guys the message?"

Zeke glared at him. "_What_ message?"

"One down, three to go..."

Though this shocked everyone, Casey and Blake were the only ones who actually stood there. Zeke's anger had gotten the best of him, and he rushed towards Kaiser, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't beat you right now..."

Kaiser smirked, and simply put his hand on Zeke's arm. "Simple. You are out of your league..." Zeke suddenly began to feel his arm getting numb. Within seconds, his arm had gotten extremely cold, and now ice began to appear on it. Out of fear, he let go of Kaiser, took a couple of steps back, and then touched his arm to see if it was fine. Now out of Kaiser's reach, his arm was slowly returning to its previous state.

"How did you do that?" Zeke wondered.

"The Titans are stronger than you think. You should never underestimate you opponent." Kaiser replied.

"You shouldn't underestimate us, either."

"I never did. Which is why I got rid of Akira. I knew what would happen if he ever got that power. You guys could have easily won even if he was the only one fighting."

"You're a monster!" cried out Casey.

"Say what you want, but that won't change anything. Now that its just you three, our victory is guaranteed." he stated.

Without warning, columns of ice rose up from the ground between them. They retracted into the ground, and Kaiser was nowhere to be found.

"Do you think he's telling the truth? That he killed Akira?" Casey asked.

Zeke looked at the card. "I don't want to believe it, but... It would explain why we haven't heard from him lately. Not only that, but it would also explain how he got his hands on this card..."

"Come on, guys. Let's go back home and think about this over there." Blake suggested.

* * *

Back at the Titan's base, Hikazu was standing before Payne.

"Well, well..." he started, clapping as he did. "Let's see. As far as Initiative goes, you did pretty well. As far as the Objective went, you failed horribly. The Titans are extremely angry at you, Hikazu. They consider this as you going against their orders. They did not tell you to go fight them. Now they know how you deck works, and can plan a decent counter-attack next time you duel. They feel like stripping you of all your powers and sending you back to where they found you!"

Hikazu stood there silently. Though his personality would normally cause him to retaliate, he knew doing so wouldn't help his case at all.

"However," Payne continued. "They won't do this. Why, you ask? Simple. Its because, despite your rash actions, you helped us discover that their decks are different now. Since Reconnaissance is such an important part of war, they are willing to overlook your actions. After all, this information is probably just as valuable as their defeat. So, all in all, you actually did somewhat of a good job. However, if you try this again, and fail, it'll be the _last_ time."

With that, he motioned for him to leave the room.

* * *

In the usual meeting room on the third floor, the table was once again being used.

This time there were only three people. The first one was Kaiser. Sitting to his right, was Kichigai. To his left, a young woman with green eyes, shoulder length brown hair, and clothes that a usual punk-rocker would wear. Her name was Shione.

"Did you hear, Kaiser? Apparently, of the three of us that Payne recruited, one was defeated already." said Shione.

"Really? I wonder what could have happened to that guy..." he said.

"Who knows?" muttered Kichigai. "Anyway, I don't think it matters much. In any case, we just have to do our job."

Kaiser nodded, and then noticed that Shione was staring at him. "Uh... You okay?"

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she replied.

"Its... Nothing." he said, getting up and leaving the room.

Once he was out of earshot, she spoke again. "He's such a great person, isn't he?"

Kichigai looked at her curiously. "Well, he's different from the others, I can tell you that much."

"How so?" she wondered.

"Oh well, you see. Its like this..."

* * *

Downstairs, the rest of the group was talking.

Hikazu was one of them. However, Takahiro, and two others were there two. Of those two, one was the mysterious duelist whose identity was always hidden. The other one, though, was a young man with short black hair. His clothes, consisted of a white shirt and a pair of light blue jeans. He was one of the new recruits, and his name was Tobikuma.

Hikazu, who was lying down on the couch, was the one who was currently speaking. "Yeah, Kaiser is overestimated. I'm telling you, if we dueled, I could easily beat him."

The mysterious duelist laughed. "You still believe that? I saw your duel, you know. While it was pretty impressive, I must say you are out of your league."

"Yeah, right. You make it sound like he's the greatest duelist ever!" retaliated Hikazu.

"Well, he _has_ beaten you before hasn't he?"

Hikazu's response to this was just a low growl.

"Exactly. You know, he's the only one that's ever defeated me in a duel? I'm telling you, for him, an Elemental, to be our leader, he's got to be a great duelist."

"True, but that doesn't mean he can't be beaten." stated Takahiro. "After all, everyone's got their weak points. As long as you know where to strike, then victory is assured."

"Something I know very well." replied the mysterious duelist.

"Enough with this, anyway. Who's the new guy?" Hikazu asked.

"The name is Tobikuma." he replied.

"You don't seem like an Elemental. You aren't a Titan, are you?"

"Actually, I am. Why do you ask?"

"Eh, its nothing. I just thought that all the Titans were Elementals. After all, some of the ones that were recruited were also Elementals."

"I see. Listen, if you don't mind, I'd like to know more about Kaiser."

Takahiro and the mysterious duelist laughed. "What? Sounds to me like you are on the same page as Hikazu." commented Takahiro.

"Well, I was just thinking. If we work together, then we might be able to defeat him and take leadership." he replied.

"The newbie's pretty sure of himself to be able to think that." Hikazu said. "Alright. I think we can, but we need to get one thing clear. _I_ want leadership."

"If this works out, then we can all get what we want." he replied.

"Everyone wants to be the leader..." Takahiro said under his breath.

* * *

Payne was in his office, sitting on his chair. He was unusually happy today, despite what's happened.

"This is just perfect. Not only are the Titans ready to strike here in Neo Domino, but the Olympians are heavily outnumbered, and their recruiter has been disposed off. The only thing that could possibly make this better is if someone gets rid of that duelist that's already eliminated one of my new recruits."

He began thinking about what he was told about what had happened.

_'This isn't an ordinary duelist, though... The only way Kaiser and his team can lose a duel _and_ their lives is if they use one of the cards given to them by the Titans to trigger a Shadow Duel. However, the new recruit was defeated without ever having used his card. This can only mean that whoever defeated him has the same ability. Could the Olympians have sent him as backup for their team? This worries me. If they did, that means they have a duelist who can create shadow duels, and whoever this guy is, he's seeking to eliminate us...'_

He looked at the chessboard he had set up.

"Alright, then. Even if you guys have a bit of backup, I'll make sure you are destroyed. The Titans won't lose!" he exclaimed.

He began to think up of many different ways to start the war here in Neo Domino.

"A nice decrease in their morale should do it..." he said, finishing with an evil laugh.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kaiser stood before a small television, watching the news.

_"There's a large number of weather systems on a global scale. These don't seem to have an actual pattern, and came out of nowhere. Every day, the systems either get worse, or change completely into something else. Scientists are baffled and have come up with no possible explanation for this."_ said the reporter.

_"People in the affected regions seem to blame this on evil spirits and/or mystical deities. They claim to have seen monstrous creatures attacking their towns and villages. Though no one gave this much importance, recent photos that have come in have proven these claims."_

Images appeared on the screen, each one showing a different part of the world, with the monsters that were attacking it. One of the pictures showed Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. Another showed Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. Others showed an unknown monster, a large dragon-like creature encased inside a crystal, and a large monster known to very few as Orichalcos Shunoros. The other pictures were of some of the incredibly rare monsters known only as "The Legendary Planets".

"This isn't going to be pretty..." Kaiser said, referring to the outcome of this war with those creatures on the Titans' side.

_"Although Neo Domino seems to be unaffected by all this, we cannot let down our guard. These monsters and strange weather patterns seem to develop and spread at unbelievable rates, and it may just be a matter of time before we-"_ Kaiser sighed as he turned off the tv.

"Some things really do look easier on paper..."

**End of Chapter 18.

* * *

**

_How bad can things become after the war begins? You'd be surprised. Especially if Payne is the one who was in charge of how it should start. Our heroes thought things were bad enough, but they can get worse. When their whole world is turned upside-down, and they are now Public Enemies, our heroes will have to figure out a way to get on the right track, before the very people they are trying to protect turn against them. Convulsion of Nature is next._


	19. Chapter 19: Convulsion of Nature

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme song: Wisdom, Justice, and Love by Linkin Park

* * *

_**Chapter 19: Convulsion of Nature**

A turbo duelist stood in front of an earth-brown Duel Runner. He was currently on a deserted highway, one that led to Neo Domino. He looked at the city from where he stood. It seemed to have lost its shine, its energy. It was still a very large and active city, but it did not shine like it once did.

It looked like it was dying a very slow death. At the rate it was going, within a year or so, it would be just like the Satellite was before the Daedelus Bridge was completed.

"What's happened to you, Neo Domino?" the duelist said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Though he said this, he already knew the answer. It was the Titans. _They_ were the only ones capable of doing something like this. Only they could turn something that was once a utopia, into ruins. Only them.

"Only him..."

He took one last look at the town, and remembered how it used to be before the arrival of the Titans. With that, he got on his Duel Runner and headed into the city.

* * *

At their apartment, a tired Blake, Casey, and Zeke sat on the couch in their living room.

They all had minor injuries and bruises, but they didn't hurt. The only thing that hurt, was their spirits.

All the electricity in their apartment had been cut off, and the apartment itself looked like a mess. Some windows were boarded up, due to the amount who tried to sneak into their house or threw stuff through these, such as bricks, or even rocks.

Now, they just had a small battery-powered tv, which they needed to keep up with the news. After all, they _were_ just declared Public Enemies by Security, due to the fact that the Titans launched a series of campaigns on tv that made them seem to be a threat to all of Neo Domino.

"Leave it to the Titans to leave out the fact that they are the ones who started this war..." muttered Blake.

Its been a week since Security has made this statement, and it doesn't look like they'll change their mind soon either. Casey, Blake, and Zeke have been forced to hide out here in their apartment since the people decided to take matters into their own hands instead of waiting for Security to do their job.

Everywhere they went, they were ignored, and sometimes, kicked out. As the week went on, unexplainable natural phenomenons began to occur in Neo Domino. Thanks to the 'hints' left by the Titans, Casey and her friends were blamed for this. Soon after, they were unable to go around the city without someone throwing food at them, be it fruit, vegetable, or even takeout.

By now, the amount of hysteria in the city had become bad enough that people began to form mobs and began to riot. Though Security had intervened a couple of times in the calming of these riots, it didn't help at all. Since they had made no arrests, or even tried to do anything about Casey and her friends, the people of Neo Domino became even more restless.

A few hours ago, there was a large group of people rioting outside the building that housed their apartment.

These people were yelling and cursing as loud as they could. Some tried to harm the building in one way or another, but a few slightly level-headed people explained to them that there were innocent people living in that building. In the end, they just cut off their power.

Of course, this wasn't enough to satisfy them. Some people had even tried to sneak in through the fire escape and attempt to either kidnap one of them, or harm them, though they just found a dead end when those entrances were sealed up. If only someone hadn't tried to do so before, they might have been able to complete their objective, and catch them by surprise.

The city itself has been slowly declining. The amount of crime has risen. The fighting and violence has also increased. It was still an active and popular tourist location, but certain parts have started to lose business due to the increased amount of crimes. Even the Tops District had its problems, but its wasn't as bad as the rest of the town. Leave it to Security to cater to the rich and abandon the poor, huh?

"You lousy pieces of scum!" said a voice from outside.

"You guys are cowards!"

"Get out here and face your problems!"

"Why must you bastards drag us into this?"

And so on, and so on. The angry mob seems to have shown up again, and they were determined to get a rise out of them. Some of them didn't even care about what was happening. Truth be told, they were just trying to make these guys look even more like criminals.

"What a sorry bunch of assholes..." said Zeke.

The three were immensely tired of all that was going on, physically, and mentally. After all, there's only so much abuse one can take before one snaps.

Right now, for lack of better things to do, Casey, Zeke, and Blake decided to talk about their decks.

"So Casey, I saw you use Gaia Knight the other day. Nice card, huh?" asked Zeke.

"Yeah. I can't believe I didn't use it before. That was one of the cards you got for me a while before the WRGP." she replied, smiling at the nice gesture.

"Well to be honest, Educated Knight's effect does make it a better monster, but it is always nice to have some variety in your duels every now and then." he replied.

"I have to admit. I was impressed by your dueling. If I had known you had cards like that, and could pull off combos like that, then I would have asked to duel you more." he said with a laugh.

"Speaking of cards we didn't know about, what's up with your deck?" Zeke asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Those fusion monsters you used. I haven't seen them before. And the way they can be summoned... Seems like the perfect deck for a turbo duel. How come you never used them before?"

Blake laughed nervously. "Well, you know... Kind of haven't had to before. I mean, my deck had always been good, but after what the Fates told us, and the way the Titans duel, I figured I'd need all the firepower I could get."

"I see. Well, in any case, I'm glad you did. I don't think you guys could have won that duel without those cards. I tell you, if that Backfire had remained on the field any longer, who knows where you'd guys be right now?"

They all nodded. This was something they agreed on.

"Anyway, when this is all over, I'd like another duel with you, Casey. Our first one was pretty fun, and now that our decks have evolved quite a bit, I'd like to see what we can really do." stated Blake.

"Alright. I'd like to see that too, but I won't go easy on you!" she said with a laugh.

Though they were actually having a bit of fun, the rioting outside became louder. They stuck their heads out of the nearest window to see that the fighting was due to a handful of people who have sealed off all the entrances (and exits) to the building.

"Wonder what's going on..." said Blake.

* * *

Outside, the angry mob began to fight against these individuals.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

"Are you trying to protect these cowards?"

"Don't tell me you guys are on their side!"

The individuals just kept quiet, and maintained control of the building.

"I can't believe you guys are siding with these cowards!" said one of the rioters, just before trying to attack the individual at the main entrance. Unfortunately for him, the individual out-skilled him, delivering a powerful spinning kick into his face that knocked him back into the crowd.

This angered some of the rioters, but no one did anything out of fear. Despite this, they kept shouting and spitting out hateful comments.

"Alright, that's enough!" shouted the individual, causing the crowd to be quiet.

"We have had enough of this! You guys bother these poor people night and day! Haven't you had enough?"

"We'll have enough when those guys come out of hiding and face their opponents!" someone in the crowd replied.

"Really? So throwing stuff at them, breaking into their home in an attempt to commit an illegal act, and rioting endlessly is going to make them get out of there?" he replied in anger. "The people that you are hurting right now are going through a lot, but all you selfish bastards care about is yourself!

"Did you forget that these people are supposed to fight for _us_? The main reason why they fight is to protect us, _all_ of us! Do you even realize how much responsibility that is to have? Things are hard enough for them, and the last thing they need is us fighting against them too."

"But those guys are just being cowards!" yelled someone else in the crowd.

"Oh please! Spare me all of that bullshit! They have to fight to protect us. Do you know how hard it is to do that when the very people you want to protect become your enemies? The way you guys are acting, they _shouldn't_ protect us! You guys don't deserve it! You are all lousy pieces of scum that seem to love to cause problems!"

"Who do you think you are, anyway?"

The individual took out a duel disk. "My name is Trent, and me and my team have this place on lockdown! Each member of my team knows at least one form of martial arts, so don't try anything funny. If you want to get through, you'll have to defeat us in a duel. Otherwise, you guys can pack up and leave, because I can assure you, you won't be getting through!"

Members of Trent's team were stationed all around the building, and three of them had successfully infiltrated the building. They all activated their duel disks, openly accepting challengers from the crowd. Just like their leader stated, they were there for good.

"Alright!" said a third voice from the crowd. "I'll duel you!" said a large hulking man as he stepped out of the crowd. He had a lot of hair on his head, and a long beard as well. Around here, he was well known as Armstrong, and his deck was a ferocious one. "Let me show you what happens when you punks start acting all high and mighty!"

"I'd like to see that! Duel!" Trent responded as their duel disks activated.

(4000-4000)

"Since you think you're so strong, you can go first." Trent said.

"I see you really want to lose, kid. If you insist, then I'll start." he began to look through his hand, and smiled upon having done so.

"Kid, you are going to regret ever letting me go first! I'll start by special summoning Gilasaurus from my hand!" An average-sized velociraptor appeared on the field, snarling at Trent. (1400/400)

"Next, I'll send Destroyersaurus from my hand to my graveyard, so I can add Jurassic World to my hand. To continue, I'll also activate the spell card, Big Evolution Pill! By tributing a Dinosaur-Type monster, such as Gilasaurus, for the next three turns, I can summon a high-level Dinosaur-Type monster from my hand without a tribute!" Gilasaurus exploded as the spell card was activated.

"And if you remember correctly, Gilasaurus was a special summon, so I can still make a normal summon this turn! Meet, Jurrac Tyrannus!" A large tyrannosaurus with red skin and a flaming mane appeared on the field. (2500/1400)

"To finish up, I'll activate the field spell, Jurassic World! This will boost the attack of all my dinosaur monsters by 300 points!" The entire field became a large plain beneath a canyon that held a volcano on its surface. There was a big lake not too far off, and Jurrac Tyrannus roared as its attack points rose to 2800.

The crowd cheered as Armstrong finished his turn, and he let himself be showered with the praise, this being a clear sign of the amount of modesty the man had.

(4000-4000)

"I don't see why you are so happy. My Life Points are still at 4000, which means that you haven't won yet." stated Trent as he began his turn.

"Kid, you are just asking for a beating. Trust me, next turn, you'll be in for a world of hurt!"

"Sorry, Armstrong, but I've known about you for quite a while, and your deck doesn't worry me one bit!"

Armstrong growled at this comment, but Trent was busy checking his hand.

He held Burden of the Mighty, Alien Dog, Alien Warrior, Alien Ammonite, Swords of Revealing Lights, and "A" Cell Breeding Device. _'Perfect! I thought he might show up, so I put in that Burden of the Mighty just in case!'_

"I activate Sword of Revealing Lights! This prevents you from attacking for your next three turns!" he said, a large amount of swords made up of light particles falling from the sky and onto Armstrong's field, some even impaling his monster.

"Now, I'll summon Alien Warrior in attack mode!" A grey hulking monster appeared on the field, looking like the type of creature you'd often see in a science fiction film. (1800/1000)

"And through its effect, I special summon Alien Dog to the field in attack mode!" A small creature, looking a lot like a dog, appeared on the field, though it had blue skin and white fur. (1500/1000)

Two small parasites appeared on Jurrac Tyrannus when Alien Dog appeared on the field.

"To finish this up, I activate the continuous spell card, "A" Cell Breeding Device and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"Hiding, huh? I'll just keep summoning more monsters to my field, and take you down once that spell card of yours is gone!"

Armstrong drew a card and began his turn.

"I summon Jurrac Titano in attack mode!" Another dinosaur, this one larger than Tyrannus, appeared on the field. Its was huge, bulky, with red skin and a rocky body. (3000/2800)-(3300/3100)

"That's it for this turn."

(4000-4000)

Trent drew Mysterious Triangle.

"First, Cell Breeding Device's effect gives all of your monsters an A-Counter." Another parasite appeared on Tyrannus, while one appeared on Titano.

"Now, I activate the quickplay spell, Mysterious Triangle. I can destroy one monster on the field with an A-Counter, and special summon an 'Alien' monster from my deck, as long as its level four or lower."

Jurrac Titano exploded, and another Alien Warrior appeared on Trent's field.

Armstrong's shocked expression from seeing his monster's destruction quickly turned into an angry expression. "You'll pay for that, kid!"

"Next, I summon Alien Ammonite!" A small snail-like creature appeared on the field. It was blue, looked grotesque, and had many tentacles coming out from the inside of the shell. (500/200)

"Now, I'll tune them together!" Alien Ammonite became a green ring that floated around the second Alien Warrior on Trent's field, which then dissolved into four green stars.

_"Otherworldly warriors, lend me your strength! Let the power gained throughout your travels be released upon my enemy! Synchro Summon! Appear, Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar!"_

An immensely large alien creature appeared on the field. It looked like a giant worm, though its coloring was blue-green. It also had rocky spikes coming out of its long back. Its body had many tentacles, and its face was slimy. (2600/1800)

"And he's got a pretty great effect. For starters, I can choose one card on the field and return it to its owner's hand. So my Swords of Revealing Lights go back to my hand." The swords faded out from Armstrong's field.

"Up next, I'll remove two of the A-Counters I've placed on your Tyrannus, and use Gol'gar's effect to destroy your monster!" Two of the parasites disappeared from Tyrannus' body as the large alien warship shot two beams that completely exterminated the dinosaur.

"Let's not forget something else. I still have my attack. And if you notice, the attack of all my monsters combined is more than enough to take you down! Attack!" he commanded. Alien Dog attacked first, biting Armstrong's arm and reducing his Life Points to 2500.

Alien Warrior attacked next, slashing at Armstrong with its massive claws, reducing his Life Points to 700.

Gol'gar fired his lasers, hitting Armstrong directly and knocking him into the crowd, which caused a few people to go down with him. His Life Points were at zero, and the duel was over. The crowd was completely silent.

In the background, large explosions, followed by screams, could be heard. His team had also succeeded in holding off the challengers.

"Now that this is done, you guys can leave. Like I said, we aren't moving..." he said, threatening any other possible challengers in the crowd. The people began to mumble things under their breaths, and slowly dispersed.

"Good job, guys." he told his team, congratulating them on a job well done.

He had someone guard the main entrance for him, and he entered the building.

* * *

Casey, Zeke, and Blake had seen everything that happened, and were now talking to Trent in their apartment.

"Thanks for helping us." Casey said as she brought him a glass of water. "Sorry we don't have much else to drink."

Trent drank some and laughed. "Its fine. Don't worry about it. Anyway, me and my team are here to help you guys. We saw how bad things have gotten for you, and we couldn't let this continue. So we decided to intervene, and will continue to intervene until this is all over. You guys can count on our support."

They gave him a short bow. "Thanks." said Zeke.

"We brought some supplies for you guys, as well as the other people in this building. We are going to work on getting the power back on. All we want you guys to do is rest while we work around here. After all, if you guys are going to battle for our survival, the least we can do is take some of the pressure off.

"Also, once we get done with the power, I'll have someone inspect your Duel Runners, to make sure they function well. Don't worry, you guys have an entire staff committed to helping you guys make it out of this alive and well. If you thought Sector Security was well-organized, wait until you see what we can really do!" he told them, with a smile on his face.

* * *

_A group of three people were standing around a table in an old abandoned building. The place had a few computers, and it was extremely secured. The people using it didn't want any intruders._

_"Alright, you guys know what to do, right?" asked the orange-haired boy._

_"Yeah." replied the other two._

_"Good. Zeke, make sure to stay on the lookout for anything suspicious. Once I hit that store, I want to know everything that'll be in my way." Zeke nodded._

_"Okay. Akira, make sure that the computers work the way we want them to. When Security comes after me, I need you to be prepared to hack into their files. Also, make sure you guys can't be traced." Akira nodded also._

_"Well, now that everyone knows what to do, let's begin! We can't afford to keep wasting anymore time."_

Kaiser woke up with a start. He had fallen asleep on the couch in the main living room of the building. He shook his head as he tried to wake up, that memory still stuck in his head.

"You are sweating." said a nearby voice. Kaiser looked around and saw Kichigai reading a manga on a nearby chair. "Seems like your conscience is trying to tell you something. It seems it may not allow you to go through with all this."

Kaiser let out a huff. "Yeah right... I won't let this stop me..."

_'I _can't_ let it stop me... Especially not when I've gotten this far...'_

**End of Chapter 19.

* * *

**

_That duelist that had caused a bit of trouble for Payne lately has arrived to Neo Domino. Having already taken down one of the Elementals, and one of the Titans' allies, he's come to take down the rest. The Titans are going to have their hands full with this one, since he's not going to go easy on any of them. Stay alert for: Enter the Sandman._


	20. Chapter 20: Enter the Sandman

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme song: Indestructible by Disturbed

* * *

_**Chapter 20: Enter the Sandman**

_"Where am I?" he asked, seeing nothing but darkness around him._

_"You are here." replied an unfamiliar voice._

_"Who are you?"_

_"I am someone who needs help."_

_"You need help?" he said, wondering why._

_"Yes. I am trapped."_

_"I see. Well, if I'm here, then I guess that means I'm trapped here with you, huh?"_

_"Wrong."_

_"Wrong?"_

_"Wrong. You aren't trapped. You can leave, and I can't."_

_"Why can't you leave?"_

_"Because I have been sealed inside here for many years."_

_He nodded, unsure of what was going on. As he looked around, more questions ran through his head. "How did I get here? I mean, last I remember..."_

_"Yes. All of that is true. You are here because I needed your help, as you needed mine."_

_"But if that happened, and I'm here, then... is this Heaven, or something?"_

_"No. It is not. You are very much alive."_

_"How?" he asked, shocked to have heard this._

_"Like I said. I needed your help, as you needed mine. I saved your life, so that you could help me."_

_"So I am asleep?"_

_"You are unconscious. You will, however, find difficulty in waking up."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because, I have been sealed in here. My power is limited, and the most I could do was just spare your life."_

_"I see. Then how do I wake up?"_

_"You put your trust in me. I can transfer my power to you, to help you wake up, but in return..."_

_"But in return?" he asked curiously._

_"Even if I lend you my power, it will only be at limited strength. If I give you my power, then you must promise to come back and remove the seal, when it is the time to do so, that is."_

_"You were sealed here for a reason, weren't you? Why should I do something like that?"_

_"Because... You wish to save your friends. My power can help you. Once you remove the seal, the full force of my power will be in your hands, and you can protect your friends."_

_"My friends..."_

_"Yes. Your friends need your help, just like I need yours, and you need mine. Do we have a deal?"_

_He hesitated for a moment. He wasn't too sure about this, but he wasn't willing to turn his back on his friends. "Alright. We have a deal..."_

The duelist snapped out of his trance and got back to reality. He was currently somewhere in Downtown Neo Domino, in an alleyway, staring up at the sky. He put his hand over his heart, feeling his heart beat as the memories returned.

"Dying sure is scary..." he said.

With a deep breath, he focused his sights on his duel disk. "I'm still not completely sure about this, but having been able to take down a Titan, along with one of their allies, sure does take away some of my worries. Anyway, until this war is over, you and I have to fight our hardest. Your power may have been sealed, but the strength you've got left is more than enough to take down the Titans!"

He looked to the side as he heard the sirens. "Security is out and about, it seems..." he said to himself. "It must be because of the Titans. I wonder if they are all alright." he muttered, thinking about his friends' safety.

"Should I go check on them? I'm sort of worried... Still, I'm sure they are alright. I mean, they aren't the kind to go down easily..."

He thought about it. Should he check on his friends, or go after the Titans?

He took one last look up at the sky and made up his mind.

* * *

Back at their base, the Titans were busy. It seems as though the duelists have taken sides, and Hikazu had the advantage.

Kaiser, Shione, and Kichigai were surrounded by Hikazu, Takahiro, Tobikuma, and the mysterious duelist.

"I take it you aren't happy with me being your leader, Hikazu." Kaiser said.

"You bet I'm not! I'm sick of your arrogant attitude, and your smug sense of superiority! You aren't better than us, you know! We _all_ have powers that rival that of a god!" Hikazu replied.

"I know you do. Still, the Titans chose me as the leader. Why? Because unlike you, I don't get carried away. When I have to do something, I do it. You, on the other hand, would probably fail and fall flat on your feet, like you did in your previous duel!"

Hikazu's anger reached its peak, and he attempted to punch Kaiser. Unfortunately, before Kaiser could counter, Kichigai stopped his punch with ease, and knocked him down onto the floor. "I do believe we aren't your enemies. If you don't calm down, then you'll have a serious problem on your hands."

"Kichigai... Seems like you two are exactly the same, always looking down on others! What makes you think I'm too weak to be leader?"

"Its not that you are weak." Kichigai replied. "Its that you don't know your enemy well enough to fight him."

"Oh please. Like Kaiser knows them?"

"Actually..." said a voice from behind them. From the shadows, came out Payne. "The Titans choose him because he doesn't underestimate his enemies. He knows what they are capable of, and is level-headed enough to stay focused on his mission. Something you were unable to do, Hikazu.

"Though your mission was certainly not authorized by the Titans, you had done well in your duel. However, due to your short temperament, you tried to get revenge on Blake for destroying your monster, and instead of finishing him off and quickly going after Casey, you tried to slowly push him into a corner. Had you finished him off first, you would have won that duel, and we'd be down to just one opponent."

Hikazu grit his teeth, clenched his fist, and walked out of the room in anger.

"Now, I have stuff to do, so I suggest you guys don't make too much noise." said Payne as he disappeared into the shadows once more.

The group had dispersed, and only Kichigai and Shione remained in the room.

"Kaiser sure isn't liked much." said Shione.

"Nope."

"I don't get it, though. He's such a great guy, and he's probably a great duelist too. Why does everyone else hate him?"

"Its all because of their reasons."

"Their reasons?" she asked curiously.

"What happens when someone who wants power, gets power?"

"They become corrupted?"

"Exactly. Kaiser is the only one of them who's not after power. That's why the Titans chose him. Because he wouldn't let all of his power go to his head..."

* * *

In a hallway on the first floor, Kaiser was being confronted by Hikazu.

"Hiding behind your little group, huh? You are a coward."

Kaiser chuckled. "I'm not the one who has to surround his opponent with a large group of people just to try and beat him. If you can't beat me by yourself, then beating me with your goons won't change anything."

At this, Hikazu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against a wall. "Listen you! I am sick and tired of you! If there's anyone who should be leader, its me! I'm the only one capable of winning this war!"

The sound a gun cocking was heard, and Hikazu felt the cold steel against his forehead. When he saw the gun, he broke into a laugh. "Did you forget? I'm immortal! Like you! That thing can't kill me!"

Kaiser, with a deadly serious look on his face, prepared to pull the trigger. "Did _you_ forget? Its the thought that counts."

As he was about to shoot, the sound of a Duel Runner was heard outside. "The hell?" He put the gun away and rushed outside, as did everyone else in the building.

In a few minutes, Kaiser was standing in front of a duelist who had an earth-brown Duel Runner.

"With all your talk about this being a 'fair' war, I was surprised you would actually go that low... Kaiser." said the man standing before him.

Kaiser was shocked to see him. Of all the people he had ever known, the man standing before him was the last one he'd ever expect to see at this time. "Why are you here?"

"I thought it was obvious." he replied.

_'I don't like this at all...' _thought Kaiser. _'What the hell is he doing here? There's absolutely no way!'_

He stared at the man's duel disk for a moment. _'There's something different about it... Some kind of powerful aura is coming from it...'_

"Alright. I'll duel you, if you want. Be warned, though. I won't be going easy on you..." Kaiser replied, activating his duel disk.

"Duel!"

(4000-4000)

Kaiser started his turn, drawing his sixth card and scanning his hand. The others were watching, most of them wanting to see him lose. He wasn't too happy about this. After all, the person standing before him shouldn't even be here right now.

He held Double Summon, Mother Grizzly, Ice Queen, Unshaven Angler, Terraforming, and Forgotten Temple of the Deep.

"I summon Unshaven Angler!" A fat blue fish appeared on the field. It had a relatively small body compared to its mouth, which contained large sharp teeth. (1500/1600)

"Next, I'll activate the spell card, Double Summon. Since I can now normal summon again, I'll use it to sacrifice Unshaven Angler..." The blue fish liquefied, and became a large floating orb of water.

"... To summon Ice Queen!"

The floating orb of water froze, and then exploded violently. The ice shards flew everywhere, but just narrowly missed the two duelists. Standing there was now a woman with white skin, wearing a white robe that complemented her white, icy hair. She also held a staff made of ice. (2900/2100)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Watching from the second floor of the building, the Titans and their allies were watching the duel. The ones who opposed Kaiser were trying to hold back their anger as they saw his strength. Kichigai, on the other hand, studied the duel, while Shione cheered for Kaiser.

His mysterious opponent began his turn.

"I set one monster on the field, as well as two cards face-down. I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"I don't what you are planning, but it won't be enough to stop me." said Kaiser as he drew Tornado Wall. _'This is good!'_

"I'll set one card, and summon Mother Grizzly in defense mode!" The large aquatic bear appeared on the field, as ferocious as ever. (1400/1000)

"Ice Queen, destroy his monster!" As Ice Queen prepared to launch a devastating blizzard at the hidden monster, a trap activated.

"I activate the trap card, Ordeal of a Traveler!" shouted his mysterious opponent. "When you attack, you pick one card in my hand. Then, you say if its a monster, spell, or trap. If you get it wrong, then your attacking monster will be returned to your hand."

Kaiser looked at him from where he stood, and after thinking about it for a few moments, he determined that the middle card was a trap.

"Wrong!" replied his mysterious opponent as Ice Queen was sent back to his hand. Of course, this only made Hikazu and the others happy, except for Shione, who couldn't believe that that had happened.

"Seems like the mighty ruler can't even make a good guess! And _he's_ the one leading _us_!" stated Hikazu.

"Alright, then. I'll set one other card on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"My turn, and I'll flip my monster into defense mode!" A two-hump camel appeared on the field, though it was covered in bandages, and the few visible parts of its body showed only rotten skin. (500/600)

"When Des Lacooda in flipped, I can draw one card." he said, taking another card from his deck.

"Next, I'll summon Giant Rat!" A giant blue rat appeared on the field, its yellow eyes staring intently at Kaiser. (1400/1450)

"Attack his Mother Grizzly!" The rat's mutant claws tore through the bear's skin, destroying it.

Through Mother Grizzly's effect, another monster replaced it. This one was a powerful spellcaster, dressed in a red shirt, black jeans, and a cape. He had a mask, and his white hair was long and spiky. With his appearance, Kaiser's field became encased in ice, and he sat on a throne, with a tall wall of ice behind him. (1200/3000)

"Neo Aqua Madoor gets summoned to my field through Mother Grizzly's effect." explained Kaiser.

"I use Des Lacooda's effect to set him on the field again, and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Kaiser drew Samurai of the Ice Barrier.

"You've always got to have an answer for everything, huh Kaiser?" shouted Hikazu.

"Would you shut up? You are just jealous because you aren't as good a duelist as him!" Shione shouted back.

"Why, you-! You keep running your mouth, girl, and I'll go after you as well!" he replied.

"Seems like you've got a fangirl." said his opponent.

"Seems so, I guess. I summon Samurai of the Ice Barrier!" A warrior dressed in frozen samurai armor appeared on the field, wielding a powerful sword of ice. (1800/1500)

"Now, I switch Neo to defense mode, and I'll have my samurai attack your Giant Rat!"

"Remember the effect of Ordeal of the Traveler?"

Kaiser looked at the man's hand again, and declared the one on the right was a spell. He was right, and the samurai's sword sliced through the large beast like it was made of paper.

To replace it, another monster appeared on the field upon Giant Rat's destruction. This one was a centaur-like creature. Its lower half was the body of a pegasus, while its upper half was a humanoid, and muscular, goat. (1200/2400)

"Since you destroyed my Giant Rat, I was able to use his effect to bring out Criosphinx."

"I end my turn." said Kaiser.

(4000-3600)

"You've got a strong field there, Kaiser. Its a shame I'm going to have to put it down." his opponent stated.

"I'll switch Criosphinx to defense mode, and flip Des Lacooda once more." Des Lacooda appeared on the field again, allowing him to draw another card.

"But he won't be staying for long. For starters, I'll sacrifice Des Lacooda to summon Hieracosphinx in attack mode!" Another sphinx monster appeared on the field. This one had a large hulking body, like a bear's, but had yellow fur and wings similar to that of a bat. It also had the head of an eagle. (2400/1200)

"Destroy his samurai!" The large sphinx crushed the samurai beneath the mighty force of its paws.

"I end my turn."

(3400-3600)

Kaiser chuckled as he drew another card. "I have to say, you did well with that move. Of course, that just means I have to do better."

"From my hand, I activate the spell cards, Crest of the Ice Barrier, and Terraforming! The first one allows me to take an 'Ice Barrier' monster from my deck and add it to my hand. The second one allows me to take a field spell from my deck, and add it to my hand!"

His allies were curious to see what he was up to. After all, a move like this usually meant he was about to synchro summon and use the field spell to increase the monster's attack.

"I summon Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier in attack mode!" A skinny man a man in old-style robes appeared on the field, wielding an ice blade. (1300/0)

"Next, I'll activate the field spell, Wetlands!"

As the spell card activated, the whole field became consumed by marshlands, as well as a large grass plain.

"This spell card increases the attack of all Aqua-Type, Water attribute, level two monsters on the field by 1200 points!" Cryomancer glowed with a light blue aura as his attack points became 2500.

"Attack his Hiracosphinx!" Ordeal of the Traveler's effect activated again, but this time Kaiser guessed correctly, causing his attack to go through. Cryomancer raised his hand up high, and within moments, large shards of ice fell from the sky and impaled Hieracosphinx.

This caused cheers to erupt from Shione, and also caused Kichigai to cheer as he got caught up in the moment, though as soon as he realized, he stayed quiet. The others, however, weren't very happy.

"Kaiser, you are just a punk! And you know that! You don't have the skills needed to be our leader!" shouted Hikazu. Just then, a shoe hit him over the head, causing him to get angrier.

"Would you be quiet already?" Shione demanded, having been the one who threw the shoe.

"I end my turn now." Kaiser said.

(3400-3500)

"I have to admit, that _was_ better. Don't worry, though, I'll fix that." said his opponent.

"I'll start by activating the quickplay spell, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your field spell!" A powerful gust of wind tore through the whole area, causing the field to disappear, and Cryomancer's attack points to go back down to 1300.

"To follow up, I summon Moai Interceptor Cannons in defense mode." Four large Easter island heads appeared on the field, though they seemed somewhat mechanical. (1100/2000)

"That's it for me. Your move."

(3400-3500)

"Heh. You really are a pain, aren't you? I don't know what's up with your deck, but I can assure you, it won't be enough to win this duel!" stated Kaiser as he drew another card.

"I summon Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier!" " A young spellcaster, with long white hair, appeared on the field. (1200/2000)

"Now, I'll tune them together!" Cryomancer turned into two green rings that floated around Spellbreaker, who quickly dissolved into four stars.

_"The coldness of my heart takes many forms, as well as its rage! Synchro Summon! Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!"_

A large blue creature, whose skin had a thin layer of ice, appeared on the field. Though it was called a dragon, it was, in fact, a large sea serpent, with wings that caused it to resemble a dragon. (2300/1400)

"Now, I'll use his effect. I'll discard my Ice Queen to return your trap card back to your hand!"

Ordeal of the Traveler turned into a small orb of light that floated back to his opponent's hand.

"Now, destroy his cannons!" The serpent fired off an ice beam from its mouth. The force of the attack was too much for the cannons, and they exploded.

"I end my turn."

(3400-3500)

"Wow. I can't believe you are running out of moves already. Am I too strong for you?" said his opponent, finishing with a laugh. This caused Hikazu and the others to laugh as well.

"What's the matter? Is our great leader Kaiser losing? Seems like the king is a short way to fall from grace!" said Hikazu, finishing with a laugh.

"I guess Kai _is_ stronger than I thought, but this duel has yet to impress me..." muttered Tobikuma.

"Heh. You think you are so tough because you got a new deck. Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet!" Kaiser replied.

"I could say the same! Now, I'll set a monster on the field, and end my turn!" stated his opponent.

(3400-3500)

"I don't know what you are trying to do, but it won't work."

Kaiser looked at the card in his hand. It was Salvage. _'I wonder if this will help...'_

"I activate the spell card, Salvage. This allows me to take two Water monsters from my graveyard and add them to my hand." He took out Mother Grizzly and Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier.

"I'll use Brionac's effect again, discarding Spellbreaker to return your sphinx back to your hand!" Criosphinx turned into a yellow orb of light, and returned to its owner's hand.

"Now, I'll summon Mother Grizzly!" Once again, Mother Grizzly appeared on the field. (1400/1000)

"Brionac! Attack his monster!" Kaiser commanded. The serpent fired another icy beam, the shards cutting through the monster.

"Since my Golem Sentry was destroyed, I can send your Brionac back to your extra deck!" stated his opponent. Brionac screeched as it became a small orb of light and disappeared from the field.

"Damn you!" shouted Kaiser. "Mother Grizzly, attack him directly!" The aquatic bear let her massive paw fall on her target's body. The claws cut him, but he was still well enough to remain standing.

"I end my turn."

(3400-2100)

"Heh... Kaiser... You just got yourself into a lot of trouble!"

Kaiser's eyes widened as the earth shook. Within moments, nothing else could be seen. Everything was completely white. "What is this place?" he wondered.

"You're about to find out..."

* * *

Blake awakened to the sounds of fighting outside. At first, he figured it was just some rioters that decided to come back, but when he heard a loud explosion, and the members of Trent's team running towards it, he figured something must have been up.

This was the same thought that Casey and Zeke had, as they also followed Trent and his team. There was a lot of clamoring among them. They were aparently surprised that one of their own was defeated so easily.

"I want to know who the hell it was!" demanded Trent as he rushed down the stairs.

"We don't know! He didn't give us a name!" replied one of his friends.

Clenching his teeth, he ran faster.

He, along with Casey, Zeke, and Blake, stood in front of the door. Standing there was a man on an earth-brown duel runner, and he was wearing his helmet.

"They told me I had to defeat them to gain access to this place. I think I did well enough, don't you?" he said.

"Why you... We are here to protect these guys! We won't allow you to cause them any harm. So you have five seconds to tell us who you are, or else I'll authorize my team to use lethal force to ensure these guys' safety!" he said, referring to Casey, Blake, and Zeke.

The man smiled. This smile was still there as he took off his helmet and looked at them. "The name is Akira..."

**End of Chapter 20.

* * *

**

_Ever wondered what the world would look like if the Titans win this war? Well, Casey hasn't, but she's about to find out what would happen if one of her enemies got what he wanted. Be on the lookout for: Something Wicked This Way Comes._


	21. Chapter 21: Something Wicked This Way

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme song: I will not bow by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

_**Chapter 21: Something Wicked This Way Comes...**

Casey woke up suddenly, as if rudely awoken from a dream. The next few seconds were spent trying to figure out what she had been dreaming of. There must have been a reason for her sudden awakening, but her mind was completely blank. She couldn't remember anything that had occurred for the past few hours. Even worse, she had now realized something that scared her a lot.

She had been lying in the middle of the streets. However, this street was different. It was old and decayed, almost as if it hadn't been used for centuries. As she looked around, wondered where she was. Everything looked exactly like Neo Domino City, with a minor difference of course. Everything here was in ruins. The building next to her was where her apartment was, but it was almost gone in its entirety. The first floor was all that was left, and even it was in pieces.

She noticed something else, too. Her duel disk was on her arm, with her deck as well. "I don't sleep with my duel disk... What's going on here?" she wondered.

She felt a little scared. The sky above her was completely dark, the only light available coming from the lightning that kept falling upon different parts of the town. As she focused a bit more on the sky, she saw it had a blood-red color. Strange images of monsters and explosions could be seen every time the lightning flashed. Sadly, she couldn't make out the creatures depicted in those images.

Knowing she was doing nothing productive by standing here, she decided to explore.

As she walked along the streets, she began to hear strange voices. They were low and hard to understand, but she found that the more she walked, the louder and clearer they became.

Within a few minutes, she saw a bright light coming from deeper into the city. Based on what she could see, the light was coming from the abandoned Arcadia Movement Building. Having no other leads that could help her figure out where she was, or how she got there, she decided to go towards it.

The closer she got to it, the louder the voices became. Though they were unrecognizable, she could make out part of what they were saying.

_"This is madness!"_ said one of the voices, yelling in pain.

_"I won't allow you to continue!" _said the same voice.

_"You will die right here, and right now!" _said another voice.

Casey clutched her head as the voices began to pierce into her head. They were hurting her, and seemed to get louder by the second. She soon fell to her knees as the voices burrowed deeper and deeper inside her head. She yelled out in pain. It was too much for her...

* * *

She had blacked out, and awoke a couple of hours later.

She now saw that she had somehow moved, or been moved, from her last spot. She was now standing at the top of the Arcadia Movement Building. The wind up here was strong and cold. She could feel the wind chill her to her very core.

She sat down near the fence that prevented people from falling off the ledge. At least, what was left of it. Most of it was gone, but from what she could tell, they weren't rusted. No, worse yet. It looked more like it was ripped off from the building. "What could do such a thing...?" she asked herself.

The shocked on look Casey's face returned, worse than ever. Not only could she hear the voices again, but this time, they were recognizable.

_"Stop! Please, stop!" _a voice cried out. She could recognize it as Zeke's voice. Worse yet, she could tell he was in horrible pain.

She turned her head, looking around frantically for the source. Though she could hear his voice, she could not find him. It scared her even more. What could have happened to him? Whatever this place was, she hated it. She hated it with all her strength.

Then she saw him. Standing before her, she could have sworn she saw a fading image of Zeke. Lightning flashed once again, and when she looked to the sky, she could see a clearer picture of the image that it showed. It was an image of Zeke, lying on the ground. Before him, was Sacred Phoenix of Nepthys being impaled by the long, slender tail of a creature shrouded in darkness.

"This... can't be possible... This place seems like a madhouse!" she cried out after seeing the image.

_'A madhouse!_' she thought to herself. _'Zeke... He was the voice that said that this was madness... Wasn't he? Then, what could possibly happen here?'_

_"If you want to know... then go to the Sector Security building..."_ said a voice, answering her thoughts.

She gasped when she heard it. _'Did... Was that voice answering me?'_ she wondered. Based on what she had experienced so far, it was extremely possible that the voice was answering her thoughts. But what if there was another explanation? She had been hearing conversations from a battle between Zeke and someone else, so it was possible that what she heard was once again part of a conversation between two other people.

She decided to believe the second explanation, hoping it would help her maintain her sanity. Either way, the next place she would go to was Sector Security HQ.

* * *

She ran there as fast as she could. For some strange reason, she found, she could run as much as she wanted to without getting tired. There must have been something about this place that allowed her to do that, since she knew that though she was used to running a lot during her time in Satellite, she could never run such a distance.

As she approached it, she heard voices once more.

_"You're a monster!" _screamed a voice, and she recognized it immediately.

"Blake!" she said out loud, worried. _'He's here too? Does that mean that he was in a battle too?'_ She shook the thought out of her head. It wasn't time for that. If he was here, truly here, then she might have a small chance of helping him before its too late.

She rushed up the stairs, completely oblivious to the fact that this building was in great shape for some reason. Though it wasn't exactly good as new, it seemed to have been left alone, untouched by the forces that tore apart the rest of the city. In fact, the Arcadia Movement Building was the same. Aside from the fence at the top, the building itself was in the same condition (more or less) as it was before the city was turned into ruins.

When she reached the door that led onto the roof of the building, she found it locked. From the other side, she could hear Blake's voice, crying out in pain. "Blake!" she cried out, hoping he could hear her. "Blake! Are you alright? Answer me!" she said, desperately trying to open the door.

_"No! Stop! STOP!"_ was the last thing she heard him say as a series of loud, earth-shattering explosions were set off.

She charged at the door, effectively breaking it as she managed to go outside. When she looked around, she saw the faint image of Blake fade out within seconds. She looked up to the sky as the lightning flashed once more. This image seemed to be as bad, if not worse, than the last one. It depicted Blake with a shocked expression, standing in the middle of a ring made out of machine parts. Machine parts that Casey recognized as the ones that made up VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon. Surrounding him were three large mechanical creatures. She couldn't recognize them, though. At least, not until she saw Kozaky standing in the background with a devilish smile on his face. Then she realized that the three machines surrounding Blake were the Giant Kozaky.

"Those explosions... Was it made by them?" she wondered. "There were four explosions... The first one must have been Blake's monster being destroyed. The other three must have been from those Giant Kozaky..." she told herself, trying to put it together.

Inside, she cursed herself for not being able to get to him in time. Had she just been a little faster, and had managed to open that door like Zeke easily would, she might have been able to save her friend. However, she was too late. Too late for Zeke, and too late for Blake. "My friends..." she said sadly.

Then, her eyes widened as she realized something important. "Akira!" she cried out. "I haven't seen anything regarding him yet! And I haven't heard his voice yet, either! He must still be alive!" she said, hoping this was true. However, there was one flaw. She had no idea where to look for him. True, she could run around until she did, but if she wastes too much time, he might end up like everyone else.

She decided to look at the city from where she stood. She found out what happened to Zeke when she saw the light coming from the Arcadia Movement Building, so if she finds another building with a strange light emanating from it, she might get to where Akira is. Sure enough, she was right. The glowing building that she now saw was the Party Hall. Upon determining the quickest way to get there, she rushed down the stairs.

Yet, as she did, a scary thought haunted her. _'Zeke lost in the Arcadia Movement Building, but when I first saw it, it was glowing. When I woke up at the top, it no longer was. I hope the glowing doesn't mean that there's someone already battling over there!'

* * *

_

When she arrived to the Party Hall, she found it was probably the only building in the whole town that was not only in good condition, but that was decorated and used electricity.

She walked in, completely stupefied by the classical music that was playing, as well as all the well-dressed people dancing inside. It looked almost like a ball, with lovely music, people dancing well-made clothes that were obviously very expensive, and a beautiful room decorated with joyous colors and ice sculptures.

"What is going on here?" she asked herself as she walked around the room. One thing that bothered her was the fact that no one responded to anything she said. It was almost as if they were oblivious to anything other than the music that was playing.

Either that, or she was some sort of ghost, but seeing how she couldn't go through anyone, she knew it couldn't be that. The people, still dancing, began to clear a path for her, leading up to the very end of the room, where a young man with short blond hair, now ruffled instead of cut straight across, a pair of rectangular glasses, which amplified the color of his blue eyes, and expensive clothing waited for her on a red and gold throne.

As she walked up to him, she bumped against another one of the quiet individuals that was dancing in the room. This person was masked, but his clothes were a gold/brown color scheme. "Excuse me." said the man when she bumped into him.

She found it strange that the man talked, and though she wanted to see if he would say anything else, the man had already disappeared into the large crowd.

Fortunately, Casey's curiosity towards this man allowed Kichigai to regain his composure, who had become slightly agitated by this strange man.

Casey walked up to Kichigai who, with a dark smile, got up and greeted her. "Hello. Welcome to the Ball. I trust you are enjoying yourself."

Casey looked at him for a moment. She didn't trust him one bit. This whole place was strange, and this man wasn't who she was looking for. Meaning, she had reason to be cautious. "Who are you, and what is this place?" she asked.

"I am Kichigai. This place is the Neo Domino Party Hall, the go-to place for all important social activities." he explained.

"I know what this _building_ is. I want to know what this _place_ is, because it is certainly not Neo Domino."

Kichigai let out a slight chuckle. "Oh, Casey. This _is_ Neo Domino. Don't you recognize it?"

"How did you know my name?" she asked, now on the defensive and ready to fight at any moment.

"What? Unlike you guys, the Titans know who they are dealing with." he replied with a dark smile.

"So you are one of the Titans?" she asked, backing away.

"Of course not, don't be silly. The Titans would never allow me to work for them. Working _with_ them, however... Well, that's another thing entirely."

"So you are one of their allies?"

"Why, yes. One of their many allies, to be honest. Of course, you and your friends don't have to worry much about the others. I'm more than enough to take you down."

"I'd like to see that." Casey stated, prompting Kichigai to smirk.

He snapped his fingers, causing a bolt of lightning to strike the building. Casey closed her eyes and tried to shield herself with her arms.

A few seconds later, she opened her eyes and saw a massive change in scenery. The building was in ruins, just like the rest of the town. There was no one else there except for them, and a terrifying roar echoed through the town.

Kichigai reached into his pockets and took out two cards. One had an image of Zeke on it, and the other had an image of Blake on it.

"Blake! Zeke! What have you done to them?" she demanded to know.

"They lost. So I took their souls, so to speak."

"What do you mean by 'so to speak'?"

"Well, all of this is just a dream. So, I can't truly take their souls from here. However, there is some truth behind the idea that dying in a dream means you die for real."

"So if this is a dream, then I can just wake myself up!"

Kichigai laughed evilly. "Normally, that would be true, but this is _my_ dream. I control everything around here. This place that you see is what I'm going to do to Neo Domino once the Titans win this war!"

"So there's no way to get out of here, then." she figured.

"Not at all. I'll offer you the same thing I offered your friends. Duel me. If you win, then you and your friends go free. If you lose, however, I'll not only take your soul, but the souls of your friends as well!"

"I'm warning you, buddy. You don't know whose friends you decided to mess with!" she exclaimed as she activated her duel disk.

Kichigai laughed. "Look at the place you are in. This is a place more terrifying than anything you could ever imagine, and its about to get worse! Trust me! Just like your friends, you'll be begging to be killed!" he replied, activating his own duel disk.

(4000-4000)

"Since I am a gentleman, I'll allow you to take the first turn."

Casey made an irritated expression, and drew her hand. She held Future Fusion, Lava Dragon, Mirage Dragon, Stamping Destruction, Delta Flyer, and Command Knight.

"I activate Future Fusion! I'll take three monsters from my deck and send them to the graveyard, and in two turns, I'll be able to summon a fusion monster that requires the monsters I just sent to the graveyard." she said, discarding all three copies of Drill Dragon from her deck.

"Next up, I'll summon Mirage Dragon to the field." In its shining radiance, Mirage Dragon appeared on the field, its glow standing out among the darkness that surrounded it. (1600/600)

"Your move."

(4000-4000)

"I summon Kozaky to the field!" stated Kichigai. A small demonic scientist wearing a ragged lab coat appeared on the field. (400/400)

Casey didn't even have to ask what was coming next. After what she had seen with Blake, she knew what would happen.

"I activate the spell card, Double Summon, allowing me to normal summon once more this turn. Meet, Giant Kozaky!" A large machine appeared on the field. It looked like a robotic version of Kozaky made up of spare machine parts. Though its appearance wasn't all that threatening, it surely had enough power to wipe out anything that was in its way. (2500/2400)

"That's quite a powerful tactic." said Casey.

"Thank you. It just goes to show that I wasn't kidding about my strength. Giant Kozaky, destroy her Mirage Dragon!" Kozaky pressed a button on his controller, which caused Giant Kozaky to fire off a missile at the glowing dragon, destroying it completely.

"I set one card and finish with my turn."

(3100-4000)

Casey drew her next card. It was Kunai with Chain.

"I'll set one card on the field, and summon Lava Dragon in defense mode!" A big, hulking purple dragon appeared on the field. It had a long body, no wings, and eight legs. There was a large yellow spike protruding from its back, and its skin was hot enough to melt anything that touched it. (1600/1200)

"Now I'll use its effect. By sacrificing it when its in defense mode, I can special summon two Dragon-Type monsters, one from my graveyard, and another from my hand. However, they must both be level 3 or lower. So, come on out, Delta Flyer and Drill Dragon!"

Lave Dragon melted into the ground, and from the lava rose out Delta Flyer (1500/900), and Drill Dragon. (1800/0)

"Next, Delta Flyer's effect allows him to increase the level of another monster on my field by 1! So my Drill Dragon becomes level four! Now, to tune them together!" Delta Flyer turned into three green rings that revolved around Drill Dragon as he turned into four glowing stars.

_"Let the power inside explode! Show the power of the bonds between friends! Synchro Summon! Shout it out, Exploder Dragonwing!"_

A large blue dragon appeared on the field. It had skinny legs and arms, its face resembled that of a fish, and had a large bulky tail. (2400/1600)

"Attack his Kozaky!" The dragon did as commanded, crushing the small demon with his bulky tail. As he did this, the self-destruct button on the remote was pressed, causing Giant Kozaky to explode.

"And with that, I win this duel!" she proclaimed.

(3100-1500)

The smoke cleared, and revealed Kichigai standing next to the Spirit Barrier trap card.

"But how?" Casey wondered, shocked by the outcome of her turn.

"I activated Spirit Barrier before your attack landed. It saved me from taking damage from Exploder Dragonwing, since Giant Kozaky was still on the field after Kozaky's destruction. However, it was unable to do anything about Giant Kozaky's negative effect." Kichigai explained. "No matter. I think its time to kick it up a notch."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that you'll start to get a taste of the true power of my deck." he replied with an evil smile, staring at his deck. "Anyways, its my move." he said, drawing a card.

"I summon Gilasaurus through its effect, making it a special summon. Of course, this allows you to special summon a monster from your grave." The snarling raptor appeared in its prehistoric glory, ferocious as historians have told. (1400/400)

On Casey's field, the medium-sized, drill-covered, Drill Dragon, appeared on the field. (1800/0)

"Next I'll activate the quickplay spell, Inferno Reckless Summon. Since I just special summoned a monster with 1500 or less attack points, I can special summon two more from my hand, deck, or graveyard. In turn, you choose one monster on your field and you can do the same."

Two more Gilasaurus appeared on his field, as Casey's last two Drill Dragons appeared on hers.

"Now, prepare to face something _truly_ terrifying. I'll sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon..."

A large dark beast roared as it made its appearance. It was incredibly similar to Slifer the Sky Dragon, though it was a dark version of it. Its form is similar to that of a demon with a body that ends with a long spiky tail that split off and became two separate "spikes". Its head was demonic, and its wings were the same style as that of a bat. It was huge, and it emitted a strange aura of darkness. It began to slowly drool as it targeted its new prey. Casey gulped as she managed to recognize the creature as the one she saw defeating Zeke. (?/?)

"The Wicked Eraser!"

Though Casey was indeed worried, she wondered what this monster's effect was. It was a high level, needed three sacrifices, and yet it didn't have any attack or defense points. "Why doesn't it have any stats?"

Kichigai smiled evilly. "Because, it gets a thousand attack and defense points for each card you control!" Kichigai cackled as The Wicked Eraser's attack and defense points rose to 6000.

"Six thousand attack points?" Casey cried out in fear.

"Attack her Drill Dragon and end this duel!" The large creature shot off its tail and wrapped it around Drill Dragon, preparing the spikes at the end of it to impale the dragon.

"I activate the trap card, Kunai with Chain! I'll activate both of its effects, allowing me to not only increase one of my monster's attack points by 500, but I can also switch one of your monsters to defense mode! Do your thing, Exploder Dragonwing!"

The weapon appeared on Exploder Dragonwing's arm. Acting on Casey's orders, he wrapped the chains around The Wicked Eraser's neck and pulled it, causing it to slam into the ground, as well as release Drill Dragon from its grasp.

"Nice move. I do believe that's all I can do right now."

(3100-1500)

Casey drew Magical Mallet and added it to her hand. It was now her standby phase, which meant that Spike Dragon would make its appearance onto the field. (3900/1000)

"I activate the spell card, Magical Mallet. This allows me to-"

"I know what it does. Just hurry up and do it." Kichigai said, cutting her off. He seemed to be annoyed by how she had managed to prevent his monster from attacking.

Casey shuffled her hand into her deck and drew again, a bit offended by Kichigai cutting her off in mid-sentence.

Now she held Negate Attack, and My Body as a Shield.

_'Not exactly what I was hoping for, but at least I can stall. My Spike Dragon has 3900 attack points. With the boost it gets from having all the Drill Dragons in the graveyard, it would become 4500. Since The Wicked Eraser's attack points would drop enough for me to destroy it, I can follow up with Exploder Dragonwing's 2900 attack points to inflict even more damage, or at least clear his field if he summons more monsters.'_

"I'll set a card, and switch my monsters to defense mode. That's it for my turn." She made her move, hoping she would at least last long enough to set up a decent counterattack. So far, her having set Negate Attack only increased the creature's attack points, but it would at least block its attack again.

(3100-1500)

Kichigai drew a card as his turn began. "You seem to be scared. Why else would you switch even your strongest monster to defense mode? Eh, it doesn't matter. All I need to do is inflict piercing damage on any of those monsters and this duel is as good as over!" he stated.

It was completely true. One of the main problems with her deck was that her monsters didn't have very high defense. Of course, her deck was customized, made up of both her cards, and Matsu's cards. She wondered what Matsu would do. He had made a complete dragon deck that utilized as many of its strengths as it could. Her deck wasn't like that. It had part of the strengths of a warrior deck, and part of the strengths of a dragon deck. Her deck had a mixture of two different decks, so she didn't have cards that would balance out any of the weaknesses of either type of deck in her favor. No. All she had was its strengths, as well as every single one of its blind spots.

"Fortunately for you, I don't have such a card at this moment." he told her, though this didn't seem to calm her down much. He examined the field for a moment, and then began to think. _'Hmm, what should I do? From the information we have about her deck, destroying Spike Dragon would save me a lot of trouble in the long run, and since its destruction would lower my monster's attack points, maybe I should take out any threats while I still can.'_

"I switch The Wicked Eraser to attack mode and have him destroy your Spike Dragon!" The creature repeated its last move, wrapping its tail around Spike Dragon, and then impaling it with its spiky tails.

"I'll set one card and end my turn."

(3100-1500)

Casey drew her next card, Ghost Gardna. _'I can't use him right now, but his effect might actually help me later in this duel. If I make it that far, that is...'_

"I'll set one card and end my turn." she said, setting My Body as a Shield on the playing field.

(3100-1500)

"Running out of moves, huh? To think, I actually thought you would be a worthy opponent. After all I heard about your duel with Hikazu, I thought you would be more of a challenge. I guess when someone prevents you from using monsters with high attack points, you run out of tricks. I mean, really-"

"Do you ever shut up?" Casey shouted, cutting him off.

"I see someone's in a bit of a foul mood. What? Did I hit some kind of nerve? What were you annoyed by? Me calling you weak? Your inability to rely on your own strength? Be honest. How many duels have you actually won by your own wits?" said Kichigai, trying to get under her skin.

"From what I've seen, in almost all of your victories, you've relied on help from someone else! Be it a friend fighting on your side, a card that they lent you, or even using their own cards! You can't win by yourself even if you tried! Even now, those dragons aren't actually yours. They belong to a friend of yours. Those warriors that you are so proud of? Most of those cards were obtained by another one of your friends. That deck isn't yours, those cards aren't yours, and that power isn't yours either! You think you can win this war, but you can't even fight alone."

"Stop! Just stop!" cried out Casey, now covering her ears.

She couldn't take it. It wasn't just the stuff he was saying. It was that it was true. She never dueled by herself. She always got help from her friends. She wanted to protect them, and yet, they were protecting her. They gave her those cards. They helped her duel. She wasn't doing anything other than pretending. She took her friends' power to try to help them, and in return, she was actually just weakening them. She wasn't made for this. She was an idiot for believing she could.

Kichigai smiled evilly as tears began to fall off her cheeks. She was feeling miserable right now, and he was enjoying every minute of it. So much so that he wasn't going to just stop. No. He would continue. Continue until she completely breaks down. Just like Blake. Just like Zeke.

"You were a fool to listen to what the Olympians told you. Remember, we have so much power over them, that they only way for them to win this war is by fighting on multiple fronts at the same time. Because of this, they can only give their power to one person in each group. And you hope its you? You? Of course you should obtain that power. After all, you are the only one that needs it. You are the only one without your own strength! Its no wonder you can never win a duel! You can't do anything at all. That's why..."

The rest of the words seemed to blur into nothingness. What he had said was already too much for her. She was on her knees, crying. His words still ringing inside her head, causing her even more pain as the though floated around her head.

_"That's why Matsu's gone! Because of you! If you weren't so weak, maybe this wouldn't have happened!"_

She wondered what to do. Its not like she could keep fighting. Not after all this. For some strange reason, his words not only seemed to hurt, but they acted like knives that slowly stabbed her every time he opened his mouth. Every one of his words was painful. She couldn't keep going like this. Her body felt numb. She felt like giving up...

"Don't listen to him, Casey!" said a voice from nowhere. Casey stopped her crying momentarily, wondering where this voice was coming from, and who it belonged to.

"He's wrong! True power doesn't come from being by yourself! It comes from the bonds that you've made! Those bonds are what make you strong! Its not the cards themselves! Its not where you got them, or even why you have them. Its why you have them, and how you use them that counts! Get up and fight! You wanted to protect your friends, and now you can! They didn't give you those cards because you were weak! They gave them to you because they wanted to be by your side! They wanted to always be with you! That's why they did it! That's why _he_ did it!"

Casey gasped. The voice was right. It didn't matter if she was weak, because her friends would make her strong. It didn't matter if she got these cards from her friends. What mattered was that she use them to defeat Kichigai.

She got up and wiped off the tears from her face. Lifting up her duel disk, she managed to smile. "Are you ready? Cause I'm ready to show you how strong me and my friends are!"

Thunder struck loudly as she said this, Kichigai now with an angry expression on his face. _'Damn you! You better hope the Titans get to you before I do, because I won't forget this!' _ he thought.

"If you really believe that, then hurry and show me what you've got, unless it was all just a bluff! I'll set a card and have my monster destroy one of your Drill Dragons!" The Wicked Eraser opened its mouth, firing a black-yellow beam at the dragon, leaving no trace of it.

"Your move."

(3100-1500)

Casey drew a card. It was Educated Spellcaster. _'Okay. I can use him to Synchro Summon Educated Knight. With his effect, I just need a monster in my hand that can increase his attack points enough to take that thing down. Of course, using Ghost Gardna while decreasing the number of cards on my field will help decrease that monster's attack, so I don't need too strong a monster... All I need is a couple more cards. That's all.'_

"I'll pass this turn. I don't have much to do."

(3100-1500)

Kichigai drew a card. "Of course not. You are, and always will be weak. My monster, however, is immensely powerful. Six thousand attack and defense points, and it only gets stronger with each and every one of your cards. Don't you get it? No matter how hard you try, you still can't beat my monster." he said.

"However, you seem to have obtained an unwanted morale boost, so I'll have to fix that. Say hello to Evil Hero Infernal Gainer!"

A fiendish monster, very similar to Summoned Skull, appeared on the field. Its armor was thick and black, with his large sharp claws substituting his hands. It had a long tail covered in armor, as well as a helmet, and an old, torn cape. (1600/0)

"Here's the part you will love. His effect allows me to remove him from play, and in return, one Fiend-Type monster on my side of the field will be able to attack twice during every battle phase!"

Infernal Gainer faded out from the field, causing The Wicked Eraser to glow for a moment.

"Attack her Exploder Dragonwing, and her Drill Dragon!" The fiend's forked tail chose their target, impaling them, causing them to shatter into pixels.

"That's it for my turn!" he said with a mad laugh.

(3100-1500)

Casey drew a Pot of Greed. "I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed!" She took two more cards from her deck and added them to her hand. Now with Sakuretsu Armor, and Call of the Haunted, she was ready to take down Kichigai.

"I'll set two cards, and summon Educated Spellcaster!" The young tuner, which she had begun to use with frequency in her duels, appeared on the field. (1000/100)

The tuner monster turned into three green rings that revolved around Drill Dragon as he turned into three glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight!"_

Educated Knight appeared on the field as he always did, with a blinding light created by his magical armor. (2500/1900)

"I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(3100-1500)

"If you think that your glowing knight can take down my monster, you are sadly mistaken! My monster is far too powerful to be defeated by you, no matter what monster you may have. And to prove it, I'll even attack! Your traps don't scare me!"

Once again, The Wicked Eraser shot out a beam from its mouth. This caused one of Casey's traps to activate, stopping the attack and ending the battle phase.

"Negate Attack, huh? Normally, one would have something more fatal than that, but knowing how weak you are, it would be pretty obvious that you would try to stall as long as you can. Very well, then. I am finished with my turn."

(3100-1500)

Casey drew, hoping that the next card would be one that she could use.

"I summon Ghost Gardna in defense mode." A somewhat mechanical angel appeared on the field, emitting a white light. (0/1900)

"Next, I'll equip Educated Knight with United We Stand! This gives him 800 attack and defense points for every face-up monster on my field. Which means that he now has 4100 attack points!" Her knight glowed brightly as his attack points rose.

"That's it for me."

(3100-1500)

"You must have become so desperate, that you can't even count! My monster has six thousand attack points! I can easily take your monster down! Wicked Eraser, attack!"

Wicked Eraser's tail stretched out, headed for Educated Knight. Suddenly, Ghost Gardna got in the way and was trapped in the creature's clutches. The fiend squeezed until the machine's armor began to crack and it exploded. The blast injured The Wicked Eraser, decreasing its attack points by 1000.

"I see. That's what you were planning, huh? Trying to weaken my monster while strengthening yours, hoping that it would be enough to kill it. Unfortunately for you, my monster still has five thousand attack points, while yours only has thirty-three hundred! And let's not forget that my monster can still attack again!"

The Wicked Eraser attacked once more, its tail wrapping around Educated Knight, trying to squeeze the life out of him. Without warning, spike shot out from the knight's armor, impaling the fiend's tail. The spikes traveled through its body and destroyed it from the inside out. The fiend roared in pain as it fell to the ground, slowly dissolving into pixels.

"What the Hell did you do to my Wicked God?" Kichigai cried out, still in shock over his monster's defeat.

"I knew how arrogant you were. Ghost Gardna was only there to distract you from the real danger. Since you thought my plan was to make Educated Knight strong enough to take down your monster, you believed that Ghost Gardna's only purpose was to weaken your monster, when the reality is that it was there to trick you! You forgot about my traps, and one of them was Sakuretsu Armor. So when you attacked the second time, you fell for my trap!" she explained.

"Now Educated Knight can attack you on my turn and win this!"

Kichigai started laughing maniacally. "You think its that easy to beat me? Did you forget? Its called The Wicked _Eraser_! Why do you think that is? When this monster is destroyed, it leaves nothing at all! Since its been destroyed, its effect activates and destroys all cards on the field!"

Casey smirked as one of her cards activated. "I activate the quickplay spell, My Body as a Shield! By paying 1500 Life Points, I can negate a card effect that would destroy one or more of my monsters, and then destroy it!"

As The Wicked Eraser dissolved into nothingness, it released a powerful gust of dark wind. Due to Casey's spell, it knocked her down, but at least all the cards on her field were safe. She got up, feeling some pain from the sudden impact.

"I end my turn."

(1600-1500)

Casey drew her next card, adding it to her hand. "This duel is over! Educated Knight, attack him directly!"

Kichigai raised his hand, causing his trap card to activate. "I activate the continuous trap, Zoma the Spirit!" A small zombie dragon appeared on his field in defense mode. It was old and decayed, and its wings were just bones that allowed one to see how its wings were like before it died. (1800/500)

"This trap card gives me a token monster. It may not be very strong, but that doesn't matter. Its effect will cause you to lose Life Points equal to the attack points of the monster that destroyed it. So you can either attack, or forfeit your turn." he told her._ 'Even better, if she forfeits her turn, then it shall be my turn. And what she doesn't know is that Infernal Gainer's effect allows it to return to my field on the second standby phase after using its effect. Meaning, on my next turn, I'll have two monsters on my field, that I can sacrifice and summon something that can easily destroy her!'_ thought Kichigai, confident in his victory.

"Not a chance!" Casey replied, filled with hope.

"I activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted! This allows me to summon Exploder Dragonwing from my graveyard!"

"What good will that thing do?" Kichigai asked.

"Didn't you know? When he attacks a monster with equal or less attack, he can destroy the monster with his own effect, and then you take damage equal to that monster's attack points! Exploder Dragonwing, finish this!"

Exploder Dragonwing smacked the token with its bulky tail, causing it to fly into Kichigai, reducing his Life Points to zero. Lightning struck the ground between them, the force of it knocking them out.

* * *

With a start, Kichigai fell onto the floor, a loud thud heard soon after. He opened his eyes, seeing Shione hovering over him. "Would you stop moving so much?" he told her, groaning as he sat up. "I have the worst headache..."

Shione looked at him with a curious expression. "What happened?"

"She won." he said reluctantly.

"I see." she replied, sitting down next to him. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. I mean, I don't even know why I did this."

"Because Kaiser asked us to, remember?" she reminded him.

"True. Still, Kaiser's gone. So why should we listen to any of the things he's told us?"

"Would you rather listen to Hikazu? Our new, self-proclaimed, leader?" she asked him.

Kichigai was quiet for a moment before he answered. "Let's do what Kaiser said..."

Shione smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Its kind of sad that Hikazu and his groupies have taken over, huh?"

"You know, we may be outnumbered, but somehow, Kaiser got the right members of this group to take his side..."

* * *

Casey woke up on her bed, with a worried Zeke and Blake watching her. "What are you perverts doing!" she shouted out, hitting them both with her pillow.

"That pillow is heavier than it looks..." muttered Blake as he lied on the floor, not wanting to get hit again.

Zeke, however, got up and rubbed his head, feeling the pain from the hit he just took. "Must you instinctively attack us whenever we try to help you? We heard you screaming so we came in here to help you. We thought you might have been hurt, but it seems like you just had a bad dream." he explained to her.

Casey put her hand on her forehead. "Yeah... I think I was... I can't remember anything about it, though..."

Resting against a wall in the hallway, Akira listened to their conversation, a little worried over what happened. _'Do none of them really remember what happened?' _he wondered.

**End of Chapter 21.

* * *

**

_Hikazu has taken leadership over the Titan's group here in Neo Domino. As he tries to learn as much as he can about his enemies, as well as those that surround him, two duelists will meet up with each other once more on the streets of Neo Domino. Don't miss, The Chaos Phantom!_


	22. Chapter 22: The Chaos Phantom!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme song: One Track Mind by Papa Roach

* * *

_

**Chapter 22: The Chaos Phantom!**

Hikazu sat before a desk inside a room somewhere on the third floor of the Titan base for their Neo Domino Division. Before him, was a small stack of files, as well as the mysterious masked duelist that's in their group. The files contained a lot of the information that the Titans had regarding this war, but most of it was about the other members. Hikazu wanted to know more about them, should they ever try to betray them.

"So these files have all the information we have on the members of this group?" he asked.

"Yes. That is all of it." replied the mysterious duelist. "Why did you want these, anyway? You don't strike me as the type to research others to this degree."

Hikazu started shifting through the files, looking for a certain one. "Well, not normally. However, I've been humiliated enough. Now that I'm leader, I'll show the Titans that I can be a better leader than Kaiser. I'll show them that I shouldn't be underestimated."

"I see. What are you looking for?" his teammate asked, seeing him search through the files.

"Kaiser's file. You wouldn't happen to have it, would you?" he asked, feeling suspicion.

"Are you saying I would hide his file from you? There's no reason for me to do such a thing."

"Don't play dumb. I already know you two were in the same prison together. Maybe you developed a friendship of some sort." Hikazu stated.

"True." he admitted, handing over a file he had kept. "But trust me, we aren't friends."

Hikazu took the file and read it over. It truly did have a lot of information on Kaiser. "People called him Kaiser in prison because they did not know his name, correct?" he asked his teammate.

"That is true. Why?"

"Because, according to this file, Kaiser's name is actually **Kai Ser**aphim."

"Really? That's pretty interesting. Sounds like whoever gave him the title of 'Kaiser' already knew his name, unless it was some wild coincidence."

"Yeah, maybe..." he trailed off, reading the rest of the file.

"He was born in Italy about twenty years ago, give or take a few years. Apparently moved to Japan after being exiled for a crime he was framed for. Supposedly, he had found peace and quiet here for a while, until the Italian Police tracked him here. In his desperate attempts to escape, he brutally murdered five of the cops persecuting him, and was later found in a nearby abandoned building. From there, he was moved from prison to prison until he ended up in the Aguerris Center here in Satellite." he read out loud, summarizing it as best he could.

"Lovely story." his teammate commented sarcastically.

"Be quiet. According to these police reports, he was a sadistic, insane murderer. He didn't care much about anyone by the time they had caught him. He was always trying to kill whoever he could, no matter who it was. Despite being insane, however, he was incredibly smart, and knew five different languages: Russian, Italian, English, Japanese, and German. They did note, however, that he behaved extremely differently after arriving at the Aguerris Center."

"Different, how?" inquired his teammate.

"Soon after arriving, he was placed in solitude for having killed his cellmate, a man around his age named Matsuda Hideyoshi. Since then, he has been extremely calm, quiet, reserved."

"That's quite the turn-around after having killed that guy. Wonder what was so special about Matsu that made him change..." his teammate said.

"Yeah, I wonder that too. Anyways, there doesn't seem to be much more about him here, other than stating that it was around this time that he had joined the Titans, and that he would be the leader of whichever group was ordered to battle in Neo Domino."

His teammate laughed. "So he beat you to the punch, then."

Hikazu threw the file at the man's face, angered by his unnecessary comment. "That was around a year ago. Its no wonder why he was the leader. Its not because he's better, its because he just got here first!"

"There's really nothing more in this file about him?" his teammate asked, looking through it.

"Not really. Just information about the decks he used, including the ones he used in the Aguerris Center, the one he used in the WRGP, and the one he uses now."

"I don't know. I find these strategies pretty interesting." said Hikazu's teammate. "The kind used in the Aguerris Center aren't half bad, but the deck he had requested, and then used once he was released from prison, are pretty powerful, though somewhat hard to pull off."

This caught Hikazu's attention. "What does that mean?"

"Well, his 'Alchemy Master' deck seems to be focused on defeating an opponent by giving up something in order to gain an advantage over them. At the cost of a monster, spell or trap, or Life Points, he could defeat his opponent. He used Injector Fairy Lily to make his opponent drop his guard, and then use her effect to deal as much damage as he can by losing some Life Points. His 'Master of Alchemy' has many forms, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Anyways, the point I'm trying to make here is that he played with a deck that relied mostly on losing something in order to win." his teammate explained.

"That's all pretty interesting, but I thought there would be something more than that. Anyway, I think I'll go read the other files." he told his teammate, picking up a file at random.

He opened it, and began reading through it. "Seems like one of our teammates is stronger than she looks." he told his teammate. "You wouldn't believe what she has in her deck..."

* * *

Trent was currently in the garage, checking out how much progress his team has done so far. At that moment, Casey, Akira, Blake, and Zeke came out of the elevator that led to the garage, escorted by one of Trent's team members.

Upon noticing their arrival, Trent approached them. "Good afternoon, you guys. I trust you slept well?"

"More or less." replied Casey.

"Yeah. I can't believe I was so tired after I woke up last night." added Blake.

"I can't believe its already two in the afternoon. I feel like we've wasted our whole day." Zeke added in as well.

"Well, you guys do need to rest as much as possible for this war. In the meantime, while you guys slept, my team has been working on your Duel Runners." he told them, pointing to the Duel Runners as he motioned Casey, Blake, Akira, and Zeke to get closer to the Duel Runners.

"We've installed top-of-the-line accelerator chips, a special transmitter so that we can communicate with each other under almost any circumstance, a GPS system that can tell us where you are, as well as allowing you guys to use it to navigate through any area you don't know. It also has our personal computing system, so you can be sure that you won't have any problems with it. We've also repaired and added new parts to them, so they can run at one-hundred percent efficiency. It also has some other features, but those aren't as important. You can check them out, though, when we are done."

"Wow. You guys have been hard at work." Casey said.

"Why, thank you. I'm proud of my team. They put their minds to whatever it is they have to do."

"So we can't use our Duel Runners?" Blake asked.

"Unfortunately, you can't. However, if you need to go someplace, I'd be more than happy to get you a ride." Trent replied.

"That'd be appreciated."

Trent nodded to him, and then turned to the rest of the group. "While I'm at it, anyone need anything else?"

"Actually, yeah. I need to practice my dueling. Have anyone you can spare to give some time off to help me?" Zeke asked.

"Well, people haven't been bothering you guys for some time, so I think I can let one of them practice with you, though I'll have to take their place. Anything else?"

"I'm hungry. Its been hours since I last ate." Casey whined.

"I'll have that taken care of too. You can go back to your apartment and I'll call you guys when things are done." he told them. Except for Akira, and Trent and his team, everyone left to go back upstairs.

"Thanks for not mentioning anything in front of them." Akira told him.

"No problem. I'm actually curious about this as well. I mean, Blake and Zeke don't even remember how we had to rush over to them 'cause they were going through the same thing. However, you never did tell us what happened, or how you kept it under control..."

"Well, if you have some time to spare, I can tell you right now..." he told Trent.

"Alright. Let's hear it."

* * *

Blake was in Neo Domino's Downtown area, inside the bar commonly known as The Bootleg. A lot of shady characters came here for many reasons, though sometimes it involved criminal acts. Blake had come here many times before. In fact, he had come here not too long ago when he was looking for a way to make his deck stronger.

One of Trent's teammates had dropped him off here and left him alone, at Blake's request. Obviously, he didn't want to do this, but Blake insisted. He figured that, at the very least, he could hang around the stores so he could stay close in case Blake needed any help.

Blake approached the bartender, showing him his Labyrinth Tank card. The bartender took a close look at it, made sure the coast was clear, and then allowed him to enter through the door that was behind him. Blake pocketed his card and stepped through the door, making his way down the flight of stairs.

He reached the end of the staircase, now standing in a hallway with many different tunnels, as well as some lit torches on the walls. He looked around for a moment, trying to remember where to go. From where he was standing, there were three tunnels, in front of him, one to his left, and one to his right. After thinking about it for a bit, he determined that he had to go through the left tunnel.

The way was pretty long, and being in such a deep, underground area, he couldn't help but get a little sweaty. He passed his hand over his face, wiping off some of the sweat. "These torches sure don't help much..."

After walking around for about ten minutes, he stopped in front of a metal door. He knocked on it, and put his Labyrinth Tank card through a small opening in the door. A few seconds later, his card slid out, and a guard that was standing behind the door opened it, allowing him to pass.

This was it. His stadium. He was now in an extremely large room. It was somewhat run-down, but Blake had seen places that were much worse than this. In the middle of the room was a large platform where people could duel. There were quite a few spectators tonight, but many of them seemed to be angry at something, or someone for that matter.

As he got closer, the lights allowed him to see the end of a duel that had been going on just now. He saw one of the duelists get knocked out of the ring, landing close to him. Blake ran up to him, recognizing him as the Champion of this league.

Up on the platform, her back turned to Blake as she was facing the crowd, was the victor of the duel. It was a young woman with green eyes, shoulder length brown hair, and clothes that a usual punk-rocker would wear. It was Shione, one of the Titans. She had been sent here by Hikazu. He told her that the Olympians had begun to obtain some support from local duelists. Her mission? To put a stop to it by taking down the best duelists around town, using them as an example to warn others of what would happen if they tried to help the Olympians.

"Do you guys get it now? The Titans do not approve of local duelists who help, or at least try to, the Olympians in this war. Let this be an example to you all! I have not only defeated your Champion, but I have also defeated almost all of your ranked duelists in this league. All except for your 'Machine King', but I'm sure he's too scared to face me. After all, I've already beaten down everyone else in here, so why wouldn't he run? If I were you, I'd do the same." she told the audience.

Angered by what she was doing, Blake stepped up to the platform. "I don't know who you think you are, but if you really are one of the Titans, then I can't allow you to continue with this."

Shione chuckled. Her back was still turned to him. "Let me guess, another guy that wants to play hero? Better go home. This isn't the place to kid around. This is serious business."

"Yeah, I know. You are a Titan, and it is my duty as an Olympian to not only fight you, but also to make sure these people aren't hurt by you bastards!"

Blake's statement caused a burst of cheers to emerge from the crowd. "An Olympian, eh? This will be good, then. I can teach these guys a lesson by taking you down as well." she replied.

Meanwhile, the crowd began to chant. "Machine King! Machine King! Machine King! Machine King!"

Shione turned around, and once her eyes fell on Blake, her whole expression changed. She was no longer acting arrogant. Now, she seemed to be pretty nervous. "B-Blake? Y-You're the Ma-Machine King?" she barely stuttered out.

Blake also seemed surprised to see her. "Nice to see you again, Amber." he said with sarcasm, as well as a bit of hate, in his voice.

Blake and Amber had known each other in the past, but it had been a long time since they last saw each other.

"My name is Shione now. " she said quietly.

"Figures. You never could stop lying, huh? Guess its become an addiction for you." Blake replied.

"That's not true..." she said, her voice barely being able to get to him.

"So you're with the Titans, huh? Makes sense. Its not like you've ever done anyone any good."

"Blake, I know you're mad, but please-"

Blake cut her off. "Why would I be mad?" he asked sarcastically. "After all, its not like you've ever done something bad to me, right? You've never hurt me at all, right?"

"Would you please, listen to me!" she shouted out.

"No. I listened to you more than enough. This time, I'm going to stop listening and actually do something."

"Blake, I can explain!" she insisted.

"Heh. I've heard that story too many times already."

She sighed. She wasn't able to get through to him. Not this way, at least. "How about a duel, then? I win, you listen to what I have to say. You win, I'll leave and won't bother any other civilians or duelists again."

"Then we'll duel. Just know that I'm aiming to win this." he stated, activating his duel disk.

"Let's duel..." she replied, not wanting to duel him at all. However, she _had_ to do this. If she didn't, she would never get a chance to explain herself. Meaning, she wouldn't be able to truly face him. She had to win this duel. She wasn't a Titan herself, but she was one of their allies, so for her, this war wasn't exactly a personal matter. Of course, she never expected to see Blake on the battlefield. At this moment, part of her wished that she had been assigned somewhere else. Now her role in this war had become personal, so she would have no other choice but to fight.

As their duel disks activated, and the battle began, the crowd roared, cheering Blake on against Shione. Based on what she had done prior to Blake's arrival, the crowd hated her as much as they could.

(4000-4000)

"You can have the first turn." Blake told her. He wanted to finish this whole duel quickly, and letting her start would help. It would allow him to be able to attack on his turn, so going second was important.

Shione nodded, and began her turn.

"I activate the spell card, Foolish Burial. I'll take a monster from my deck and send it to the graveyard." She took a card that slid out of her deck and she put it in the graveyard slot. "Next, I'll set a card and set a monster. That's it for my turn."

(4000-4000)

Blake drew a card and added it to his hand, which consisted of Cannon Wheel, Shining Angel, Nanobreaker, Clockwork Night, Magnet Circle LV2, and Reckless Greed.

"I'll activate the spell card, Magnet Circle LV2, allowing me to special summon a level two or lower monster from my hand, such as Cannon Wheel." The small wheel appeared on the field, causing the crowd to cheer as they remember one of his ace monsters. (500/500)

"Next, I'll normal summon Shining Angel to the field." One of his newest additions to his deck, Shining Angel appeared with a flash of light. (1400/800)

"Shining Angel, attack her monster." The angel flew towards the hidden monster and delivered a kick to it, causing the image of the monster to howl shortly before it shattered into pixels.

"When Hyena is destroyed by battle, I can summon more from my deck." stated Shione as two more Hyenas appeared on her field in defense mode. (1000/300)

"Very well, then. Before I finish my turn, I'll tune my monsters together." Cannon Wheel became two green rings that floated around Shining Angel as he dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Bring forth a huge explosion! Bring forth annihilation to the cards! Synchro Summon! Roar engines, Combat Wheel!"_

His former signature card appeared on the field, causing the crowd to cheer even more. (2500/1200)

"I activate my trap! Bottomless Trap Hole! Since your monster has more than 1500 attack points, I can use this trap to destroy it." said Shione as her trap activated, causing a large hole to appear underneath Combat Wheel, destroying it.

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Obviously, Shione's move displeased the crowd. She had used this move before in her previous duels here, and even used it to take down the Champion.

"I'll start by summoning Gazelle, the king of Mythical Beasts!" A large beast appeared on the field. It seemed like a large lion, though its fur was darker, it had a horn, and it was many times stronger. (1500/1200)-(1800/1200)

"Why did its attack points go up? That monster doesn't have an effect." Blake wondered.

"The monster I sent to the graveyard when I began my last turn was Phantom Beast Cross-Wing. Its effect increases the attack of all my Phantom Beast monsters by 300 points. Gazelle, attack him directly!"

Gazelle leaped at Blake, landing easily in front of him while throwing its heavy claws on his body, causing Blake to yell out in pain. He clutched his chest as the beast returned to its master's side of the field, smiling. "The Machine King won't go down easily!"

She scowled at this, and finished with her turn by setting a card on the field.

(2200-4000)

Blake drew Summoner Monk. _'I can use this. But to pull this off, I need time, and cards...'_ he thought, trying to plan not only his next move, but his victory as well.

"I'll set a card on the field, and summon Nanobreaker in defense mode!" Another one of the popular monsters used in a machine deck, the female android appeared on the field. She knelt down and put her sword in front of her, trying to defend herself. (1600/1800)

"That's it for my turn."

(2200-4000)

"Blake, don't do this! You can't win! Just give up and listen to what I have to say!" Shione pleaded, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"Just hurry up and make your move. I want to win this duel as quickly as possible." he replied.

"Fine. If you really feel that way, then I'll make you listen! I'll summon Phantom Beast Thunder Pegasus in defense mode and end my turn." A two headed pegasus appeared on the field. It seemed to be mechanical. Its left side was red, while its right side was black. Its wings were actually electrical charges that it emitted from its back that took the shape of wings. (700/2000)-(1000/2000)

(2200-4000)

Blake drew Cyber Repairer.

"I'll set a card on the field and end my turn."

(2200-4000)

"I'll summon Enraged Battle Ox in attack mode!" she shouted out. The powered-up version of Battle Ox appeared the field, its love for fighting still alive and kicking as it snorted and prepared itself for battle. (1700/1000)

"That's all."

(2200-4000)

Blake drew again. This time, he drew Call of the Haunted.

"I'll set a card on the field, and activate the continuous spell, Clockwork Night!"

As he activated the spell card, the entire field changed. Large machines rose out of the ground. Within moments, the whole field looked like the inside of a large factory. Shione's monsters were taken away by some of the machines and placed on conveyor belts. They were rushed through the inside of one of the machines, and when they came out, they were nothing but robots designed to look like their former selves.

"What did you do to my monsters!" Shione exclaimed.

Gazelle now had 1300 attack points, while Enraged Battle Ox had 1200, and Phantom Beast Thunder Pegasus had 500.

"Clockwork Nights is a spell that turns all monsters that were on your field during its activation into machines, and then reduces their attack points by five hundred points!"

Nanobreaker stood up and gripped her sword, pointing it at the monsters standing opposite of her. Her attack points had now become 2100.

"Also, it increases the attack points of machines on my field by five hundred points." he said with a wicked smile. "Nanobreaker, destroy her Battle Ox!"

Nanobreaker rushed at the large beast-warrior. It swung its axe down at her, but due to the fighting abilities that were written into her programming, she was able to dodge the attack and counter, destroying Battle Ox with a single hit.

"I end my turn."

(2200-3100)

Shione drew a card and began with her turn.

"You asked for it! I activate the spell card, Polymerization! I'll fuse my Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts with the Berfomet in my hand! Fusion summon, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!"

A colorful swirling portal appeared behind Gazelle, pulling it in. Then, a larger beast jumped out. It was a mix of both monsters, with each one of the fusion material monsters' head on its body. Its body was similar to that of a lion, and it had two large wings with grey feathers. Its long tail was actually a snake. (2100/1800)-(2400/1800)

"Next, I'll sacrifice the Thunder Pegasus on my field to summon Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard!"

Another large beast appeared on the field. This one was more of a monster that could be found in old science fiction movies. It had blood-red skin that seemed like it was being stretched to its limits. It had a huge body, which was similar to that of a centaur, with four legs. Its head, arms, legs, and parts of its body and its tail, was covered in sharp stones. It was basically its 'natural' armor. (2200/2000)-(2500/2000)

"Get ready, Blake! This is where you go down! Attack!" exclaimed Shione. On her command, the monsters rushed at Nanobreaker, attempting to crush her under their massive power...

**End of Chapter 22.

* * *

**

_Shione may seem to have Blake on the ropes, but he's learned to always keep a trick or two up his sleeve. Will it be enough to defeat Shione, a girl who's not only allied with the Titans, but who also seems to have history with Blake? Find out in Wrath of the Machine King!_


	23. Chapter 23: Wrath of the Machine King!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme song: Say it by Blue October

* * *

_

**Chapter 23: Wrath of the Machine King!**

Deep inside the tunnels underneath The Bootleg, Blake was dueling. His opponent was a girl named Shione, though her real name was Amber. She was not a Titan, but rather one of their allies. Acting on Hikazu's orders, she came to this underground dueling league to duel whoever she could. Hikazu told her there were rumors that the Olympians were gaining support from local duelists, so she had to defeat all the duelists here that supported the Olympians and use them as an example for others. Whoever supported the Olympians would be severely punished.

Slowly, she made her way through the list, taking down all the ranked members in this league, including the champion. There was only one ranked duelist left. A duelist titled 'The Machine King'. To her surprise, the Machine King was not only willing to duel her, but it was also Blake, whom she had known very well in the past. Though it seems they had some problems, Shione had wanted to talk to him, but he refused to hear her out.

As a result, they bet on this duel. If Shione wins, Blake has to listen to what she wants to tell him. If she loses, she must not only leave Blake alone, but she must also leave the local duelists alone. Both are determined to win, but Shione not only has Blake on the ropes, she also has him pinned down. Unless he can turn things around, this duel is as good as over...

(2200-3100)

Shione drew a card and began with her turn.

"You asked for it! I activate the spell card, Polymerization! I'll fuse my Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts with the Berfomet in my hand! Fusion summon, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast!"

A colorful swirling portal appeared behind Gazelle, pulling it in. Then, a larger beast jumped out. It was a mix of both monsters, with each one of the fusion material monsters' head on its body. Its body was similar to that of a lion, and it had two large wings with grey feathers. Its long tail was actually a snake. (2100/1800)-(2400/1800)

"Next, I'll sacrifice the Thunder Pegasus on my field to summon Phantom Beast Rock-Lizard!"

Another large beast appeared on the field. This one was more of a monster that could be found in old science fiction movies. It had blood-red skin that seemed like it was being stretched to its limits. It had a huge body, which was similar to that of a centaur, with four legs. Its head, arms, legs, and parts of its body and its tail, were covered in sharp stones. It was basically its 'natural' armor. (2200/2000)-(2500/2000)

"Get ready, Blake! This is where you go down! Attack!" exclaimed Shione. On her command, the monsters rushed at Nanobreaker, attempting to crush her under their massive power.

"I activate the trap card, Cyber Repairer! Though you get to draw a card, for this turn, none of my machines can be destroyed through battle!" shouted Blake as his trap card revealed itself.

"But you can still take damage!" stated Shione as she drew a card. "Attack!"

Chimera's tail stretched out and bit the android's arm, causing it to shoot out sparks as some of its circuitry was damaged. As the tail stretched back, Nanobreaker quickly raised up her sword and tried to block against Rock-Lizard's punch, but the creature was too powerful. It pushed harder, causing her sword to break, and its attack to go through, knocking Nanobreaker onto the ground.

Though damaged, Nanobreaker stood up, unwilling to give up.

"I end my turn."

(1500-3100)

"Thank you, Nanobreaker." he told her as he drew his next card. For a moment, one could see Nanobreaker smile and give him a quick nod.

"I activate Swords of Revealing Lights! For your next three turns, you can't attack!" Dozens of swords made of light particles appeared on Shione's field, preventing her monsters from attacking.

"I'll also activate my trap card, Reckless Greed! This allows me to draw two more cards, at the cost of my next two draw phases." He drew Combination Attack and Old Model to the Frontline.

"Next, I'll summon Summoner Monk!" A green-skinned spellcaster appeared on the field. He had long silver hair that came out from both sides of his hood, and wore a long white/purple robe. He sat down next to Nanobreaker and began to concentrate. (800/1600)

"Thanks to his effect, I can discard a spell card from my hand to special summon a level four or lower monster from my deck!" He discarded Combination Attack, causing Z-Metal Tank to appear on the field in defense mode. (1500/1300)-(2000/1300)

"Your turn."

(1500-3100)

Shione drew a card, starting her turn. _'He's trying to stall. That's why he summoned that monster. He's trying to get his defenses up until he can try to summon something good. Too bad I already know that Combat Wheel was his strongest monster. Without it, he can't really do anything. Meanwhile, I can just fill up my field and then take him down with piercing damage! Sorry Blake, but I'll make you listen to what I have to say even if its the last thing I do!'_

"I activate the spell card, Dark Core! I'll send one card from my hand to the graveyard to remove your Nanobreaker from play!"

Blake looked at Nanobreaker, sad to see her go. "Sorry..." he whispered. She heard him, and smiled. A dark orb then proceeded to surround her. It crackled with darkness and had a malicious aura. Seconds after, it shrunk until it couldn't be seen, and Nanobreaker was nowhere to be found.

"I end my turn, which activates the effect of the Manticore of Darkness that I discarded. By sending a Beast, Beast-Warrior, or Winged Beast-Type monster from my hand to the graveyard at the end of a turn in which he was sent to the graveyard, I can special summon him to the field!"

A portal opened on the ground, and a large hulking beast pulled itself out of it. It seemed a lot like a minotaur, with the only difference being that it was a lion rather than a bull. It had a large scorpion tail, and two black bird wings. Its eyes glowed red as it growled. (2300/1000)

"And since the monster I discarded was another Cross-Wing, my Chimera and Rock-Lizard get another boost!" Chimera's attack points rose to 2700, while Rock-Lizard's rose to 2800.

(1500-3100)

"I'll use Summoner Monk's effect again, discarding one of my spells to summon another monster from my deck." He discarded Old Model to the Frontline, causing Y-Dragon Head to appear on the field. (1500/1600)-(2000/1600)

"That's it for my turn."

Though the crowd supported Blake, it was pretty quiet right now. Everyone was not only curious as to what Blake was planning, but also wanted to know where Blake got his new cards, since they couldn't recall him having used them before.

(1500-3100)

"I summon Phantom Beast Wild-Horn!" Another monster, similar to Battle Ox, appeared on the field. Unlike, Battle Ox, this mosnter was more of a moose than an ox, but both monsters were pretty much the same, in more ways than one. This monster, however, used a sword instead of an axe, and wore silk clothing for protection, instead of the heavy metal one that Battle Ox used. (1700/0)-(2300/0)

"I'll set a card and end my turn!"

(1500-3100)

Blake wondered what else he could do as he began his turn. Two of Shione's turns had already passed. After her next one, he would have to fire out at her full blast, or risk losing this duel. Indeed, using Reckless Greed was a risky move, but since he had paired it with Swords of Revealing Lights, he was able to last this long. Still, he had run out of spell cards.

As a matter of fact, he had run out of cards altogether. He didn't have anything more in his hand, and all he needed was one more spell card. _'I'll have to trick her.'_ he thought. _'If I can do that, I can survive long enough to get a couple more cards in my hand.'_

"I pass my turn."

(1500-3100)

"Blake, I can see that you've run out of moves. Just stop this! Stop, and listen to what I want to say. It shouldn't even have come to this!"

Blake cut her off. "You're right! It shouldn't have come to this! Had you listened to me instead, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Shione frowned. Blake was truly mad at her. After all this, he was still this angry with her. She began to think that maybe she couldn't fix it. Maybe what she wanted to say wouldn't change anything, but she needed to get it off her chest. "Blake, I'm sorry!"

Blake's expression didn't change, even after hearing this. He was still furious. "Of course you are... Why wouldn't you be? People try to help you, and instead of letting them, you push them away! That's why you were so miserable! Its not because people abandoned you. Its because _you_ abandoned _them_!"

Shione gasped out of shock. She couldn't believe what he had just said. His words hurt her. They hurt her a lot, and even so, she could tell he meant them. He meant every single word. And she couldn't blame him. "Blake... How-How could you say that? I thought..."

"I thought a few things, too." replied Blake. "I thought you were a great person. A person to whom fate had yet to smile upon. I couldn't stand to see you so unhappy. I cared about you! A lot! I tried to help as much as I could, but it wasn't the same for you, huh? I cared about your safety, but so did you. You only cared about yourself!"

"Blake, please... Just let me speak!" she pleaded.

"No. I remember telling you to stay away from those guys!" he reminded her, referring to the members of a gang that Shione was in back in London. "I told you to trust me. I told you they were bad. I told you so much, but it was as if you didn't listen to what I told you. Why should I listen to you now?"

Shione knew he was right. She had hurt him a lot in the past, but she wanted to fix it. She truly wanted to fix all this, with all her heart. "Because, I know how you feel!"

Blake scoffed. "Please... I doubt you could. I doubt you know what its like to be betrayed by someone you love! I loved you a lot, and I thought you loved me as well. But I was wrong. Horribly wrong. The day you stole that money was the day I opened my eyes. When I found out that you had stolen that money from your gang, and then blamed me for it, I knew how you really felt."

Shione tried to say something, but her voice was gone. She couldn't say anything at all. She had betrayed him. This was true. She had really hurt him. She should have known what would happen when she framed Blake for what she did.

She could still remember everything clearly...

* * *

_She drove down the streets of London on her Duel Runner. _'I hope I get there in time!' _she thought._

_She arrived at Blake's apartment, rushing up the stairs as fast as she could. She reached the third floor in almost no time at all, and hurried. In less than a minute, she made it to Blake's apartment, Apartment 3-F._

_Her breath got slower the moment she saw that the door was ajar. "Blake!" she cried out. She rushed in and began to look around, not seeing him anywhere. When she got to the kitchen, however, she finally found him. He was lying in a puddle of blood, unconscious, with many wounds on his body. His face was covered with blood. His blood._

_She couldn't believe what she had seen. She could feel his heart beat. It was hard to know for sure, but it didn't matter. She knew he was still alive, even if he was just barely hanging on. She rushed to the phone, and dialed 999, hoping to get an ambulance here in time._

_After having placed the call and made sure that the ambulance was coming, she went back to Blake's side. She grabbed a nearby towel and began to clean his face. Tears ran down her cheeks. "Blake, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I didn't want to hurt you. Please... Wake up! Don't die on me!"_

_She put her head on his chest as she began to cry harder. Blake's eyes opened slightly, enough to be able to see her. "Sorry..." was all he managed to say before he drifted back to unconsciousness._

_When she heard this, she pleaded for him to tell her why he was saying sorry to her. To the person who hurt him this much._

_Her answer came some weeks later. Once Blake was well enough to leave the hospital, she tried to ask him again. His answer?_

_"Sorry, but I broke my promise..."_

_The promise that he was referring to was one that he made her when he began to develop feelings for her. He had told her that he would always be there for her, and that he wouldn't leave her side for anything._

_Of course, this devastated Shione. She felt like fixing this somehow, but it was already too late. Blake had left London, and told no one of his whereabouts.

* * *

_

"You're right. I can't know how you feel. But I want you to at least understand how _I_ feel. And if the only way to do that is by beating you in this duel, then so be it! I'll activate the trap card, Horn of the Phantom Beast, and equip it to my Rock-Lizard."

A crimson helmet appeared on Rock-Lizard's head, with two large golden horns on it, one on each side. It glowed, raising Rock-Lizard's attack points up to 3600.

"This card increases my monster's attack points by 800! There's nothing you can do to beat it!" she stated, ending her turn.

(1500-3100)

Blake drew a card. It was just what he needed.

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed!" He drew two more cards, Limiter Removal, and Dimension Fusion.

"I discard the Dimension Fusion in my hand to use Summoner Monk's effect, bringing out X-Head Cannon!" X-Head Cannon appeared on the field next to the other monsters. (1800/1500)-(2300/1500)

"I end my turn."

(1500-3100)

"Swords of Revealing Lights are gone, so I can finally attack! Rock-Lizard, finish him off!"

"I activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted!" The crowd began cheering as they saw the return of his former signature monster, Combat Wheel. (2500/1200)-(3000/1200)

"I already know that monster, Blake. Not only is it the strongest card in your deck, but its also your only chance at victory! Since its weak, I can easily destroy it with my Rock-Lizard!"

"You forget my monster's effect, then! If you attack, I can discard the card I hold in my hand, and make it strong enough to not only take down your monster, but a good portion of your Life Points as well!" Blake replied.

It took Shione a moment to understand the situation. He was right. That's why he had summoned all those monsters. He wasn't trying to defend himself. He was trying to power-up Combat Wheel! She thought about what to do. She had Dust Tornado, and Raigeki Break in her hand, but she wouldn't be able to do much until her next turn. So for now, she would have to stall.

"I'll set a card and end this turn."

_'If all else fails, I'll still be able to use Hallowed Life Barrier and protect my Life Points.' _she thought.

(1500-3100)

Blake hoped his next card would be useful, and it just might be if his plan were ever to fail.

"Its time to finish this! I activate the quickplay spell, Limiter Removal! At the cost of their destruction at the end of this turn, all of my Machine-Type monsters' attack points are doubled!"

Combat Wheel's attack points rose to 6000, X-Head Cannon's rose to 4600, and both Z-Metal Tank and Y-Dragon's Head had their attack points increase to 4000.

"Clear out her field!" Combat Wheel destroyed Rock-Lizard, X-Head Dragon took down Manticore of Darkness, Z-Metal Tank crushed Wild Horn, and Y-Dragon Head blasted Chimera to pieces.

Shione, however, remained unharmed.

"What happened?" Blake asked.

"I activated Hallowed Life Barrier. At the cost of discarding a card from my hand, I was able to reduce all your damage to zero for this turn! Not only that, but destroying Chimera allows me to bring back Gazelle to the field!"

Gazelle, the king of Mythical Beasts, appeared on the field once more, its attack points rising from 1500 to 2400.

"Since the monster I discarded was my last Cross-Wing, he gets another boost. And since you used Limiter Removal, your monsters will be destroyed, allowing me to take you down on my next turn!" she exclaimed, confident in the fact that she would not only win, but that she could finally feel better about what she had done.

"I don't think so." stated Blake. "You see, your biggest mistake was thinking that Combat Wheel is my strongest monster. That's no longer true. Combat Wheel is nothing compared to what this deck has now, and you'll see a great example of it! Before my turn is over, I'll remove from play X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank, to fusion summon XYZ-Dragon Cannon!"

All three machines joined together to form a new monster. Z-Metal Tank was the bottom, as well as its wheels. Y-Dragon Head was the midsection, joining the other two together. X-Head Cannon was the upper part of the machine, its cannons ready to fire. (2800/2600)-(3300/2600)

"I set a card and end my turn, and after your turn, I'll be ending this duel!" he said, followed by Combat Wheel's destruction through Limiter Removal's effect.

(1500-3100)

"Sorry, but that won't be happening!" exclaimed Shione. "I activate the trap cards. Dust Tornado, and Raigeki Break! Dust Tornado will destroy your Clockwork Nights, while, at the cost of one card from my hand, I can destroy your monster!"

Blake smirked. "I activate my trap! Trap Stun! This will negate all your traps for this turn!"

Shione hurriedly looked through her hand, wondering what she could do. He had literally left her with no way to fight back!

"I'll switch Gazelle to defense mode and end my turn!" she said reluctantly. She couldn't believe it. Was Blake's anger really enough to defeat her? All the stuff she wanted to tell him, she didn't seem to have a chance. She knew of XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect. On Blake's turn, everything would be over.

(1500-3100)

Blake drew a card, and quickly discarded it. "I activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect, to destroy your monster!" The machine shot a beam at Gazelle, incinerating it.

Shione knew what was coming, and she had accepted it. There was nothing more she could do. Sure, she could try to use Raigeki Break again, but what would be the point. The amount of trouble Blake went through to win this duel was more than enough for her to know that he truly hated her. That he really didn't want to listen to what she had to say, and though it hurt, she decided to accept it. If she won, or if she lost, the outcome would be the same, with Blake pushing her away, as she had done to him...

"Attack!" The machine charged up all of its lasers, and fired them, full-blast. The force of it was enough to knock Shione down, as well as cause a lot of cheers to erupt from the crowd. "Machine King! Machine King! Machine King!" they chanted.

Blake looked at her for a moment, and their eyes locked. Shione could see the sadness and pain in his eyes as he left the room, without saying a word.

* * *

Outside, Blake's escort caught up to him at the corner next to The Bootleg.

"Hey! Finally done here, or do you have someplace else to go?" he asked Blake.

Blake was silent for a bit, and after a moment, he spoke up. "No thanks. Just... Take me back home."

His escort noticed that something had occurred. It wasn't just the way that he was speaking. It was the way he said 'home'. It was as if he didn't know where home was anymore. Like, he was confused.

"You okay? Why did you want to come here anyway?" he asked him.

Blake thought about it for a moment. "I actually don't know the answer to that myself. I originally came here wanting to test out my deck. Wanted to make sure I was strong enough to fight this war, but... I don't know anymore."

His escort was silent, but then as he was about to say something, Blake interrupted. "Take me home, please."

His escort nodded and took him home, not wanting to bother him about what had happened inside the bar. Though he wanted to know, and wanted to help, he knew it wasn't the right time.

* * *

Outside the apartment, Blake walked out of the front door, carrying a backpack. He stood there for a few minutes before walking down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks as he heard the door open behind him.

"What are you doing?" Akira asked him.

"What does it look like? I'm leaving." he responded.

"You know how important it is that we all stay together. We are severely outnumbered, and we can't afford to lose you."

Blake rolled his eyes. "Yes, you can. I've seen you guys duel. You are strong enough to win."

"I thought you said you would help us do this. I thought you would fight by our side in this war!" Akira exclaimed.

"Things change. The war has changed." Blake replied.

"_You've _changed. What happened to you?"

Blake sighed. "This isn't what I had signed up for. I can't fight. I... I-I wouldn't be of any help to you."

Angry, Akira charged over to him, attempting to punch him in the head.

As Blake turned and saw this, light-blue lines appeared in his eyes and began to glow. Akira's punch was blocked by an invisible barrier that materialized around Blake, causing a look of shock to take over his face.

Irritated, Blake grabbed Akira's arm, pushing him against the wall like it was nothing. As Akira rubbed his head and tried to get up, he took one look at Blake. Whatever it was that had happened to him, had made a big change in him. He knew that Blake wasn't this strong. And the way his eyes were glowing, something was definitely going on.

In a mechanized voice, Blake spoke. "I told you I'm leaving. I'm not going to fight!" With that, Akira began to hear a high-pitched noise. It seemed to get louder and worse as the seconds passed, and it wasn't long until he drifted to unconsciousness, allowing Blake to get away...

**End of Chapter 23.

* * *

**

_Blake's left without notice, and with no way to track him down, the Olympians will have to fight with one less member on their team. Even worse, with Hikazu now leading the Titans team in Neo Domino, they are about to see just how ruthless he can be. Be on the lookout for the next chapter of this story, Burning in the Skies!_


	24. Chapter 24: Calm Before the Storm

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

A/N: Since chapters are never fully planned out due to any changes that might occur, chapter 24 has been changed. This chapter will now focus on the team after Blake's desertion, and will build up to the next chapter, which will have the same title as the one this would was originally going to have.

* * *

**Chapter 24: Calm before the Storm...**

The day had started out... a bit strange, thought the group. It was sunny, with a few clouds overhead, but there was something. It was as if there was something in the air. They could feel it. Everything looked somewhat normal, but it felt a bit strange. They figured it was due to Blake having left. He was usually up around this time, doing something that would probably make them laugh.

Zeke, trying to get used to how things were before Blake came along, as well as angered by the mess that Trent's team was making, was in the kitchen, trying to think of what he should make for lunch. "What the hell have they done to my kitchen!" shouted Zeke as he looked through the cupboards, angry at the fact that Trent's team rearranged a lot of the stuff in them. He began to take the stuff out little by little, grumbling something about how 'disorganized the people in this house were', how they 'needed to learn some manners', and so on, and so on.

Though he was being pretty loud, Casey was in her own little world, oblivious to Zeke and what he was doing. She was sitting on the couch in one of her red shirts (that was her favorite color) and a pair of yellow short pants, listening to her iPod. She wasn't used to the silence in the house, so she thought that listening to some music would ease this feeling of awkwardness that was in the house. As she listened to Flyleaf's _'Missing'_, she thought about a lot of things.

One of those things was Blake. She remembered Akira giving them the news about him leaving shortly after she woke up. She felt sad. He had quickly become one of her friends, and she didn't want him to leave. The war against the Titans wasn't really all that important to her. In her mind, her friends came first, and the war was usually the last thing she cared about, unless it involved her friends.

Another thing that quickly entered her mind was Akira. He seemed much different since he got back. She noticed he wasn't acting as he usually did. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew he had changed. Though she wasn't satisfied with the answer he had given her last time, she figured she should wait a bit before asking again, and maybe try a different approach.

Her mind then went to Zeke. He had acted different, as well. She noticed that he had been practicing his dueling a lot for some reason, and it was always in secret. Trying to find out why, she had asked him to duel for old times' sake, but he had told her no. He didn't let anyone near his deck, and he seemed more distant when it came to personal matters.

Then she began thinking. Had she changed? The answer to that question was an obvious yes. Had she changed much? Again, the answer was yes. Had she changed as much as her friends had? She was stumped. She really didn't know how to answer that. Her friends seemed to have changed in a way that just as good as it is bad. Not only that, but she never did think much about how the stuff she experienced affected her.

Maybe she hadn't changed as much as them. She would have to give this some more thought before trying to answer it. She had become much stronger, and so had her deck. She was proud of this. She felt like she could do a lot of things now. However, every time she felt like this, her mind wandered back to the first person she met that was always feeling that way. Matsu. Indeed, he had always kept watch over her, dedicating his life to not only making her promises, but also making sure that they were kept, no matter how absurd it sounded.

His last promise was that he would find a way to give her a better life. A life out of the Satellite. A life in Neo Domino. Of course, he always said they would come here together, and that was the only part of the promise that hadn't been fulfilled. She put her hand on her cheek, feeling the spot where the marker used to be. Getting a marker was pretty painful, but getting it removed was much worse. Matsu had gotten himself into the Facility, and by using a long list of 'false crimes' that he had committed, he managed to sneak the crime that she had framed for into the list, making it seem like he was the one who actually did it. That's how he managed to get her out of the Facility, with the help of Zeke and Akira, of course.

Since the crime she had been framed for was cleared, they removed the marker, seeing how she was innocent. For her, Matsu had gone through so much trouble. Yes, she knew that Akira and Zeke had helped him out as well, and that thought never left her mind, but they were here, with her. Their sacrifices weren't as big as the one Matsu had made.

* * *

As for Akira, he was currently in the garage, working with Trent and his team on the Duel Runners. He had been trying to install their new system into the runners, seeing how Trent's team had some problems with it the first few times they tried to install it. So far, he had gone over the coding for the system, making some adequate changes to it so that it would run better. Now he was working on installing it, though he mentioned it was best for it to take some time, since that way he could monitor it as it was being installed, making sure that it installed successfully. If it didn't install again, he could at least figure out where the problem was, and focus on fixing it.

"Has it started loading yet?" Akira asked, turning around so he could see.

"Yeah." replied Trent, looking at the monitor. "Why did you make it so slow?"

"Because this way I can figure out where the problems come from, if we encounter any. Of course, once we get this done right, we can speed up the process on the other Duel Runners. For now, we just have to focus on Casey's Duel Runner." he explained.

"I see." he replied. "Well, while you do this, I'll be checking out the other Duel Runners, making sure the equipment is working right." he told him, grabbing a toolbox and carrying it over to the nearest Duel Runner, which just happened to be Blake's. In his hurry to get out of here, he left behind his Duel Runner.

As Trent got down and began to work, he tried to bring up the subject about Blake. "So, have any idea what happened last night to Blake?"

Akira sighed. Talking about Blake wasn't one of the things he wanted to do right now. In fact, he actually found it more entertaining to stare at the monitor as the programs were being installed.

"Seems to me that something must have happened to him last night to make him do that." Blake continued.

"What do you mean by that?" Akira asked in a monotone voice.

"When I questioned my team about this, one of them said that he _did_ seem to act differently after he came out of The Bootleg last night."

"Really?" Akira replied, still not interested much in this topic.

"Yup. From what he told me, when he came out, he seemed somewhat confused, yet angry at the same time. He tried to ask Blake about what had happened, but Blake didn't say anything. From what he told me, though, he never figured that Blake would run away like that."

"He _was_ different." Akira said. "Before he got away, I saw his eyes. There were lines around his pupils. They were light blue and glowed. Not only that that, but they formed some sort strange pattern."

Trent stopped working, curious. "Really? What kind of pattern?"

"Circuits. They looked like circuits. Not only that, but when he spoke to me, his voice wasn't his. It was pretty mechanical."

"Like a robot?" Trent wondered. "Do you think something bad happened to him? Like, maybe he was taken by the Titans and then replaced by a robot?"

Akira almost chuckled at Trent's idea. It sounded pretty stupid. Though, with all that had occurred, it could be in the realm of possibility. However, he was pretty sure it wasn't that. "No. I doubt it. I mean, he was pretty different, but I could feel something familiar. I don't deny that something has happened to him, but I do not think he was replaced with a robot or something of the sort. I'm sure that was him..." he said, eventually trailing off and sinking into his thoughts as he stared at the monitor once more.

Unable to snap him out of it, Trent decided to keep working on the Duel Runner.

* * *

"Ah-choo!" Blake had sneezed, just waking up from his nap. He was at the airport, still waiting for his flight to start boarding passengers. He looked at his watch. It was 10 am, and he recalled having fallen asleep some time around 8:30 am. "Only an hour and half, and they still haven't gotten ready." he said to himself.

It was boring to have to wait. His thoughts kept drifting back to Amber, and their duel. _'Never thought I'd see you again...'_ he thought.

He shook his head. This was not something he wanted to think about much right now. He had tried to forget her since he left London and moved to Neo Domino, and he was sure he had done that. However, when he saw her last night, he couldn't stop his anger and hate from resurfacing. Just when he had thought he had finally freed himself from her, she appears back in his life.

Well, not this time. He was determined that they wouldn't meet each other again. If he fought in this war, he could endanger the lives of his friends. As he showed during his duel, he couldn't control himself around her. He felt anger and hate towards her, but could also feel love towards her as well.

He didn't know what he would do if he ended up fighting her in an actual duel. One where the winner lives, and the loser died. That's how they told him the duels would be. With his feelings in the way, he wouldn't be able to think straight. He'd either be too focused on beating her to think about his friends and the consequences of the victory, or he'd be unable to pull the trigger in the end, meaning he would lose the duel, and all chances of helping his friends win this war would also be lost.

He sighed and took out his plane ticket, staring at it. His destination was the only place in this whole world that wasn't having any problems because of the war yet. The United States. He smiled, hoping that he would be able to enjoy some peace and quiet over there.

_"Gate 42B is now boarding passengers for Flight 319, Neo Domino to Los Angeles."_ said a garbled voice through a nearby speaker.

Smiling, he picked up his backpack and headed over to the gate. He would finally be able to leave this place.

As he made the line, a voice called out to him from behind.

"Blake! Don't go!" said the unrecognizable voice.

Blake turned, and his eyes widened in amazement at who he was seeing before him...

* * *

Hikazu was currently in the Meeting Room, sitting at the head of the table. Everyone else was sitting around him. To his right, the mysterious duelist. To his left, Tobikuma. Next to the mysterious duelist sat Kichigai. Across from Kichigai, was Shione. Next to Shione, was Takahiro. And last but not least, opposite of Hikazu, was Payne, who had to be there during such meetings.

"Since I'm sure you guys know this by now, Kaiser's been defeated. This means, I'm the new leader of this group." stated Hikazu, causing some people to sniker.

He slammed his fist on the table, angrily looking through the group to see who had laughed. "Who thinks this is funny?"

Kichigai got up, smirking. "I do. As one of your allies, I am obviously not allowed to interfere with such things, but if you honestly think you'll have any power over me, you are sadly mistaken."

"What the hell!" exclaimed Hikazu. "You had no problem listening to our leader before!"

"_Our_ leader? You wanted to overthrow him!" he stated. "If you must know, Kaiser was a good leader. He got his position because he was fit to lead us. I respected him. You, on the other hand, aren't even worth the space you are taking up! What exactly makes you think that you should be leader?"

Hikazu prepared a small fireball in his hand and quickly threw it at Kichigai out of anger. Kichigai focused on the fireball and easily caught it in the palm of his hand, causing it to scatter into the air and die out. "Your powers are below mine. Don't get too full of yourself." said Kichigai as he sat down.

"Man, you guys fight too much." Takahiro commented dryly. "Can we get on with this? I was hoping to watch some anime before our next battle."

Hikazu slammed his hands against the table. "That's the problem! You are all a bunch of slackers! The only reason why we haven't won this war yet is because no one here is actually getting out there and trying to defeat the Olympians!"

"Kaiser thought we should give them a chance to have a fair battle, like the Pactum Principatus state." said Shione. The Pactum Principatus, or 'Rules of Conduct', as some called it, was what they called the original document, as well as the copies, of the contract to which the Titans forced the Olympian Gods to sign. In it, the rules of the actions and measures allowed to be taken in this war were written.

"Woman, did I say you could speak?" he asked her, annoyed by her sudden interruption. She shot him an evil glare, which caused him to gulp, sit down, and try to continue with the original subject of the conversation. "Yes, well... The Pactum Principatus does state that, but the Titans made sure to use specific wording that would allow them to use loopholes to their benefit." he explained.

"Can you continue with whatever point it is that you are trying to make?" asked Takahiro, bored out of his mind. He had taken off the hood for this meeting, which revealed that he had a gold earring on his left ear, long black hair that was cut in certain areas to make it look messy, and his usual green shirt and grey sweater.

"The point is that we need to figure out which way to strike." he told him.

"Is that all?" wondered Tobikuma.

"Yes. Unless any one wants to volunteer, I'll be choosing the next person to face the Titans." stated Hikazu. He scanned the table, looking at everyone. At first, he considered sending Kichigai, but he thought of two things that would interfere. The first was their dislike of each other. Kichigai probably wouldn't do as he was told. The second thing was Kichigai's deck. He had reviewed it by reading what was written on the files he was reading the other day. It was extremely powerful, and Kichigai showed to have great control over it. If Kichigai lost, they would lose one of their most powerful duelists.

Then, he thought about Shione. Though they had their differences, it seemed like she didn't mind following his orders, to some extent. For now, he was satisfied with the amount of loyalty he had been receiving from her, even if it wasn't much. Her deck, however, was also powerful, so he couldn't afford to lose her yet.

Takahiro was the next choice. He was lazy, and though loyal, he needed to prove that he was a good enough duelist to be fighting in this war. True, he had already seen how strong he was, but he knew there was more. If Takahiro wasn't so lazy, he could easily take down the Olympians. Sadly, it was obvious that Takahiro wouldn't be in a rush to fight the Olympians, even if he were ordered to.

He himself wouldn't be fighting, and he needed the duelist sitting to his right for support, since he didn't have everyone's loyalty. That only left Tobikuma. He hadn't seen how strong he really was yet, and wanted to see what he could truly do. "Tobikuma!" he shouted out, causing Tobikuma to look up at him in surprise. "You'll be fighting the Olympians. Get yourself ready! I want you to use _it._"

Tobikuma blinked a couple of times. "It?"

"Yes. Make sure you don't lose, because you already know the consequences of using that card." Hikazu stated.

"Fine..." he mumbled, not wanting anyone to know that he was truly happy with this. Finally, this would allow him to continue with his plans.

"Any other matters that we should mention?" asked Payne, wondering whether the meeting would be concluded yet. They all shook their heads, agreeing that they didn't really have any other official business to discuss. Payne nodded and left the room, soon followed by the others.

* * *

Shione and Kichigai went to the roof to talk. From there, they could see almost everything in the Satellite.

"What is it?" Shione asked.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, why?" she said, though it was a lie.

"You haven't been acting right since you came back after losing that duel last night. I want to know if you are alright. If you aren't, then we can't continue with the plan."

Shione panicked. Not continue with the plan? That was crazy! They _had_ to, or else everything they had done so far would be done in vain. She had no choice but to tell him the truth. "I'm not okay. The guy who beat me in last night's duel is furious at me."

Kichigai looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. "Furious at you? Why?"

"He's the one... The one I loved. The one I hurt... The one I'm doing all of this for..."

Kichigai nodded. He got it now. She was about to keep going, but he motioned for her to stop. He didn't need to hear any more. For the rest of the hour, they just sat there and stared at the horizon, making small talk from time to time, but never actually saying much.

"I kind of wish Kaiser was here, like he always was..." she said, referring to how she, Kaiser, and Kichigai, would come up here and talk from time to time.

* * *

In the middle of one of the hallways, the mysterious duelist of the group waited up for Tobikuma, who had just gotten ready to go fight one of the Olympians. "What is it?" asked Tobikuma, knowing full well that the man standing before him didn't usually try to meet someone alone unless he had something important to say.

"You'll be fighting an Olympian today, right?"

"Yes." he replied.

"In that case, I have something that might help." said the mysterious duelist, handing him a folded piece of parchment paper.

Tobikuma opened it. Surprised by what he saw on it, he took a step back, before narrowing his eyes and looking at the one who handed him the paper. "Where did you get this?"

"Let's just say that I know a guy. Anyways, I know that what you really want is this, and that fighting the Olympian will only help you obtain it. So, I thought it would be a nice favor."

"A favor?" Tobikuma was suspicious. Sure, the Titans that donned their powers to them had known each other well, but they were still different people. He wasn't sure how much he could trust him.

"Yes. I thought that if I helped you get what you wanted, you'd help me get what I want." he told him.

"And what exactly is it that you want?"

The mysterious duelist laughed. "Don't worry about that yet. Just focus on your duel, and the rest of your objective." He put his hand on Tobikuma's shoulder and smiled, leaving the hallway shortly after.

Once he was out of sight, Tobikima looked at the paper once more. "I don't know what your intentions are, but once I get this, I won't have to worry about that at all!" he exclaimed.

* * *

Zeke was driving through the streets of Neo Domino, riding Casey's Duel Runner. The new computer system had been installed without a problem, and he was told to test drive it. According to the news, there was a storm warning, so the streets were practically empty. Since Trent and his team hadn't picked up any abnormalities in the weather pattern yet, they were confident that Zeke could test drive it and be back before the weather got worse.

Zeke cried out happily as he drove through the empty streets, the wind hitting him hard. He felt free. He could go as fast as he wanted, when he wanted, without worrying about endangering others.

"Calm down, Zeke!" shouted a voice from out of nowhere. In the corner of his helmet's visor, a small image appeared. It was Trent, who was back at the garage. "My readings indicate you are going at speeds over 150 mph. You need to slow down. I know it can go faster, but we don't want to put too much pressure on the Runner so soon after the upgrades."

"I get it." replied Zeke, slowing down to speeds at around 45 mph.

"Good. Now, have you checked out any of the other systems yet?" Trent asked.

"Only a couple. The GPS is working great, and so is the transmitter." He could see Trent nod happily, glad to hear that.

"Perfect. We were wondering if those would work well enough in this kind of weather. At least with those working, we can guarantee clear communication between each other, as well as fewer problems with driving around here." Trent said.

"Anything else you want me to test out?" Zeke wondered.

"As a matter of fact, yes. The Navigation System should have a radar that gives you up-to-date information on the weather. See if it works for you. Activate it, and tell us what information it is displaying."

Zeke nodded. He pressed the far-right corner of the touch-screen monitor, causing a new window to open. It was a somewhat translucent map of Neo Domino that floated over the map shown in the background by the GPS. This map, however, worked like a radar, constantly scanning the area around it to collect information. After a few seconds, a small box appeared on the upper-right corner of the monitor, displaying the information it had gathered.

"Wind speed, 17 mph. Temperature, 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Climate, very cloudy." he read out loud.

Trent nodded as he checked the data given to him by Zeke with the data he had on his monitors. "There's a difference of only two or three numbers over/under the data I have. We will have to fix that, but considering that you are on a Runner running multiple systems at once, as well as with different equipment than ours, this small difference shouldn't be anything to worry about." Trent determined.

As Zeke explored the different programs that the new system held, music began to play through the earphones in his helmet. "You guys actually put an AM/FM radio in here? Nice."

Suddenly, the music stopped playing. "Hey, why'd you turn it off? I was listening to that." Zeke complained.

"Focus. You aren't supposed to be listening to music, or you'll get distracted."

"You guys were the ones who put this in here. Along with an MP3 player, as well. I'm liking this." he said, snickering.

"Yes, we did put that, but not for now. You won't always be fighting, so I thought it would be nice to put that in. Anyways, focus! Anything strange going on around?"

Zeke looked around at the buildings, not seeing anything strange about them. Then, he turned to the monitor, checking to see if there were any changes in the climate. To his surprise, there was. Wind speed was increasing every second. It had managed to rise all the way up to sixty miles per hour. The pressure around him was decreasing, and the temperature couldn't be fully determined by the system to do its sudden changes.

"Zeke! I'm getting something weird over here! What do you see?" asked Trent.

"I don't know! The machine is going crazy, and I can barely see anything!" He pushed the emergency brake on the Runner, but it still kept going forward. "I can't stop! The brakes aren't working!" he cried out.

"Zeke! Zeke! Answer me! What do you see! Zeke!" shouted Trent.

The wind began to pick up even more, and soon, Zeke couldn't see anything at all. He tried to move away from wherever he was going, but it was as if the wind was sucking him in. The roaring of the wind got louder, and random objects, including some debris, began to fly around. As he rode through the streets, he barely dodged some of the objects that were headed for him.

He began to observe the whole area. Everything that was flying around, seemed to be going in a circular pattern. Almost like it was orbiting something. _'Orbiting? No. This is worse than I thought! This is a tornado!' _he exclaimed in his head as he picked up even more speed, drifting off into the eye of the storm...

**End of Chapter 24.

* * *

**

_Zeke wakes up high in the sky. His opponent, Tobikuma, is going to fight him with everything he's got. Though Zeke is strong, his opponent isn't going to be easy to beat. This is the first official battle of the war, as well as its first shadow duel. With both harnessing the power of the skies, this will be one life-or-death battle that will determine which team will secure the first victory! Burning in the Skies is next!_


	25. Chapter 25: Burning in the Skies

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Don't Let me Fall by B.o.B_

A/N: Only made an edit in the card album. Do not fear, for the chapter remains the same.

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 25: Burning in the Skies**

Zeke slowly drifted into consciousness. The most obvious thing he noticed was that he was no longer on the streets of Neo Domino City. He seemed to be somewhere else. The ground was completely white and fluffy, and yet sturdy enough for one to walk on it.

He could see nothing here except the white ground stretching across the horizons. He looked up and saw only clear, light-blue skies. There was not a cloud in sight.

After observing the landscape for a bit, he found what he believed to be a path and followed it. He hoped that there was something there that could help him figure out where he was.

The path itself was short, but its odd structure and composition made it difficult to walk on. After almost an hour of walking, he finally reached that something. Sitting before him was a multitude of large concrete structures. They were ruins, and of the structures that remained, he was able to determine that they were old enough to be structures from Ancient Greece.

It seemed to have been a large and wealthy empire that eventually met its end. The largest building, the one in the very middle, seemed to be the kind of place that might have the answers he was looking for. He walked over the path, which was now covered over with bricks, to find out what is going on.

The path led to the ruins of what was once the throne room. The throne was still in good condition, though the fabric was pretty worn out. The walls were almost completely gone, so there were no paintings or important documents hanging on them. The only thing left in the room were three statues.

Two of the statues faced each other, each one on either side of the throne. A few feet behind the throne, was the last statue.

The first statue, the one at his right, featured a sort of demon. It had broken wings, wore black armor made of either silk or leather, and had a skull head, half of which was masked. The plaque underneath read "Norleras".

The second statue, the one at his left, featured what he believed to be an angel. It was feminine-looking, had long clawed arms, and seemed to be extremely tall, despite the statue showing only her upper body. Her face, except for her creepy smile, was covered by her long hair, which reached all the way down to her back. The plaque underneath read "Invicil."

He walked past them and the throne to view the third statue. The last statue, the one placed behind the throne, was different. It looked a lot more like an angel than the previous statue he saw. This one was male, and he had large angelic wings that seemed to be defending him from something. He wore military pants, and was humanoid, but did not look like a normal human being. His eyes were covered by a headband, and his back had some tattoos that took up part of his shoulders. He seemed to have some sort of energy orb in his hands. The plaque underneath read "Enrise".

"I've never heard of these guys before... Who are they?" he asked himself.

"They are the Sky Scourges." said a voice.

Zeke turned around, looking for the source. Nothing. It seemed as if there was no one else there. Without warning, a figure popped out from the throne. It was a young man, with short black hair, wearing a white shirt and light blue jeans, and some grey sneakers.

"Who are you?" Zeke asked.

"I'm Tobikuma. I'm one of the Titans." he replied.

Zeke quickly went on the defensive, and raised up his duel disk. "What is this place? Why am I here?"

Tobikuma laughed. "That was a pretty quick change in attitude. These are the ruins of an ancient greek city that praised the Sky Scourges. You are here because its time to officially fight in this war. I've brought you here so that we may duel. You win, you get to get out of here. I win, and... Well, you'll find out soon enough. So, are you ready to duel, Olympian?"

_'Titan, huh? I guess I have no choice to duel him. If I want to get out of here, I'll have to win, and if I do that, I can also secure a victory for the Olympians.'_ he thought. "If you really want to duel, then lets do this. I'll beat you down quickly and get the hell out of here!"

"Don't underestimate me!" exclaimed Tobikuma. They moved to their respective sides. Tobikuma was standing in front of the throne, and some feet away, Zeke stood facing him. They activated their duel disks, and the duel began.

* * *

_"Ladies and Gentlemen!"_ shouted Hikazu, now on every television and computer screen across Neo Domino. _"Your supposed saviors, the Olympians, have been in hiding for far too long! Today, the first official match of this war begins! We have managed to trap one of the Olympians, and he's about to duel one of our own. The duel will be televised, so that you can all witness how weak your protectors are! Watch your heroes fall to their knees!" _he said, laughing evilly as the screens began to show the duel between Tobikuma and Zeke.

* * *

(4000-4000)

Tobikuma drew his sixth card. "I'll start this duel. I activate the field spell, The Sanctuary in the Sky!" He placed the card on the duel disk, and the whole place transformed. The ruins were now the same as when they were fisrt built. Tall, beautiful, elegant, and prosperous.

"Next up, I summon Cloudian-Acid Cloud in attack mode!" A tall green cloud, that took an almost humanoid shape, appeared on the field. Its form reminded one of a genie, as they also had long tails and no legs. Its evil face was identified by the holes on its head that formed a face. (500/0)

"Now, I'll set a card on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Zeke drew his next card and examined his hand. He drew Pot of Avarice, Harpie Lady 3, Winged Sage Falcos, Flying Kamakiri #1, Blast with Chain, and Harpie's Brother. _'If there's one thing I remember from past duels is that the Sanctuary prevents him from taking damage. So if I can't harm him, I can at least stall him.'_

"I summon Winged Sage Falcos in attack mode!" Winged Sage Falcos appeared on the field, revealing his sharp talons as he prepared for battle. (1700/1200)

"Attack his Acid Cloud!" Falcos flapped his wings hard, causing the wind to blow away the monster with ease. Seconds later, the cloud took shape again, meaning that Acid Cloud was still on the field.

"Nice try, but as long as this field spell is in place, I don't take any damage!" gloated Tobikuma.

"I'm not an idiot." replied Zeke. "I already knew that. Fortunately, Falcos has a nice effect. If he destroys a monster that was in attack mode, he can send that monster back to the top of your deck instead of sending it to the graveyard!"

"Unfortunately, my monster can't be destroyed by battle. So your Falcos' effect is useless."

_'Damn it. So that thing can't be destroyed, and he can't take damage. I'll need to find another way to deal with his monster.'_

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Tobikuma drew his next card. "I summon Cloudian-Ghost Fog in attack mode!" Another cloudian monster, this one resembling a ghost, appeared on the field. (0/0)

"And he can't be destroyed by battle either. Your turn."

(4000-4000)

Zeke drew his next card. It was An Owl of Luck.

"I summon Harpie's Brother, in attack mode!" Harpie's Brother appeared on the field, and he also showed off his sharp talons. (1800/600)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Tobikuma drew his next card, beginning his turn.

"I'll sacrifice my monsters to summon Cloudian- Eye of the Typhoon!" Ghost Fog and Acid Cloud were blown away. From the ground, came out a large cyclops-like blue cloud. It was huge, muscular, and its tail swirled around like a tornado. Its giant eye looked at the two monsters that stood before him, which looked somewhat scared of it. (3000/1000)

"That thing is huge!" exclaimed Zeke, surprised to have seen such a creature. It was the first time he had ever faced such monsters.

"Typhoon, destoy his Harpie's Brother!" As the large cloud attempted to crush the monster, both Falcos and Harpie's Brother switched into defense mode, and then Harpie's Brother was destroyed.

"What happened?" Zeke wondered, since his Life Points were still intact.

"When Typhoon attacks, all non-Cloudian monsters have their battle positions switched." explained Tobikuma. "I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Zeke started his turn, drawing a card. It was Burial from a Different Dimension.

"I summon Harpie Lady 3 in attack mode." One of the Harpie Lady sisters appeared on the field, ready to fight and avenge the death of her brother. (1300/1400)

"Next I switch Falcos to attack mode and end my turn."

_'If I leave them in attack mode, they'll be switched to defense mode when that thing attacks and my Life Points will be safe.'_

(4000-4000)

Tobikuma started his turn, and it seemed like he had made a good draw.

"I activate the spell card Salvage. Thanks to this, I can take two Water attribute monsters from my graveyard with 1500 attack points or less and add them to my hand." The two monsters he had sacrificed to summon Typhoon were now back in his hand.

"Now, I'll summon Cloudian-Ghost Fog once more!" Ghost Fog appeared on the field again. (0/0)

"Typhoon, destroy his Falcos!" Typhoon attacked, causing Falcos to go on the defensive as he was destroyed.

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Zeke drew again, hoping for a good draw this time. Garuda the Wind Spirit.

_'Not bad. I can actually use him a bit later.'_ he thought.

"I summon Flying Kamakiri #1 in attack mode!" A large insect appeared on the field. It was green, with big yellow eyes. (1400/900)

"I switch Harpie Lady to attack mode and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Tobikuma started his turn. They had told him not to underestimate his opponent, but it was too easy to do so. After all, Zeke may be able to keep monsters on his field, but he couldn't get rid of the Cloudian monsters, or even deal any damage.

"I summon Cloudian-Acid Cloud in attack mode!" Acid Cloud appeared on the field again. This time, it had two smaller clouds revolving around him. (500/0)

"When he's summoned, he gets fog counters for each Cloudian monster on the field. Next, I activate the continuous spell, Cloudian Squall. Now, during my standby phases, every face-up monster on the field gets a fog counter. Typhoon, destroy his Kamakiri!"

Kamakiri went on the defensive as he was crushed by the giant cloud.

"When Kamakiri is destroyed, I can search out a Wind attribute monster from my deck with 1500 or less attack points, like Gusta Gulldo."

A green, medium-sized, eagle appeared on the field. He wore green armor, a helmet, and the team symbol on a colored disk with a silver whirlwind. (500/500)

"I end my turn." stated Tobikuma.

(4000-4000)

Zeke drew his next card, Stealth Bird.

"I summon Stealth Bird in attack mode!" The blue bird appeared on the field, shifting in and out of camouflage. (700/1700)

* * *

Back at the garage, everyone stood around the television screen, watching the duel. Many were surprised to see Zeke summon Gusta Gulldo, as they never knew he had that monster.

"Why did he summon Stealth Bird in attack mode? Wouldn't it have been better to use his effect?" Casey asked.

"There's only one reason why someone would choose not to use Stealth Bird's burn effect. He's going to Synchro Summon." stated Akira.

"But he doesn't have any Synchro monsters, does he?" she wondered.

* * *

"I tune Gusta Gulldo to Harpie Lady!" Gulldo turned into three green rings that floated around Harpie Lady, who then dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"The ever-changing wind shifts, unleashing a new force upon the unsuspecting! Synchro Summon! Daigusta Eaguls!"_

A much larger version of the bird appeared, wearing a much more upgraded version of the armor it had on when it was smaller. There was also a person on the eagle, making it seem like he was the bird's tamer. (2600/1800)

"And when Gulldo is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can summon a level two or lower 'Gusta' monster from my deck! Come on out, Gusta Squirrel!" A small green and white squirrel appeared on the field, emitting sparks of electricity. (0/1800)

"Now I'll tune him to Stealth Bird!" Gusta Squirrel turned into two green rings that revolved around Stealth Bird, who dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"The power of teamwork and unity reveals itself! Synchro Summon! Assault your prey, Daigusta Gulldos!"_

Another large version of the bird appeared, though this one was slightly younger than the one from the previous Synchro. He also wore green armor and a helmet, as well as the team symbol. His rider, though, was female. (2200/800)

* * *

Casey was the most surprised one of the group. "_Two _Synchros in one turn? I didn't even know he _had_ those monsters in his deck!"

"Looks like someone's upgraded their deck..." Akira commented.

* * *

"Those were some nice moves, but unfortunately, they aren't strong enough to do anything to me! You wasted those tuners for nothing!" exclaimed Tobikuma.

"That's where you are wrong!" Zeke replied with a smirk. "Gulldos has a nice effect. You see, I can return two Gusta monsters from my graveyard to my deck, and in return, I can destroy one of your monsters!" He added Gusta Gulldo and Gusta Squirrel to his deck, and the rider on Gulldos fired off a blast of wind from her staff, destroying Typhoon.

"Seems to me like you'll be losing this duel soon enough!" stated Zeke as he ended his turn.

(4000-4000)

It was obvious enough that Tobikuma would be angry at Zeke for causing his strongest monster to be destroyed.

A third fog counter appeared on Acid Cloud, and a counter appeared on Ghost Fog. Zeke's Synchros also gained a counter each.

"I summon Cloudian-Atlus!" A large yellowish cloud appeared on the field. It resembled a large fat ghost. Two fog counters appeared around him. (1300/0)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Zeke drew his next card, Winged Repayment. _'I need to destroy his field spell. With that out of the way, his Life Points will be unprotected.'_

"I summon An Owl of Luck in defense mode!" A small owl appeared on the field. (300/500)

"Next, I'll remove from play the Harpie's Brother in my graveyard to special summon Garuda the Wind Spirit in attack mode!" Garuda appeared on the field quickly enough, taking his place next to Daigusta Gulldos. (1600/1200)

"To finish, I activate the spell card, Winged Repayment! At the cost of 500 Life Points, I can draw a card for each Winged Beast monster I control, provided I don't use those cards until my next turn." He paid the cost and drew four cards.

(3500-4000)

Tobikuma started his turn, and Acid Cloud now had four fog counters, Ghost Fog had two, and Atlus had three. Gulldos and Eguls gained a second, while the other two gained one.

"I summon Storm Cloud*!" A small grey cloud appeared on the field, rumbling as the sparks of electricity escaped it. (700/0)

"Next up, I activate Acid Cloud's effect, removing two of its fog counters to destroy your set spell or trap!" The two fog counters flew at Zeke's trap card, exploding on contact and leaving nothing in their wake.

"Also, I'll use Atlus' effect. For every three counters I remove from the field, You have to discard a card from your hand. If I remove all of the counters on the field, that's a total of 11 counters. So by removing only nine of them, I can make you discard half your hand!" All of the fog counters on the field faded away, except for the ones floating next to an Owl of Luck and Garuda.

The discarding was made at random by the duel disk's computer, and Zeke was forced to discard Rising Air Current, Pot of Avarice, and Burial from a Different Dimension. Now he only had Gusto Thunbolt, Tornado Bird, and Foolish Burial in his hand.

"To continue, I tune Storm Cloud to Atlus, Acid Cloud, and Ghost Fog!" Storm cloud turned into a giant green ring and surrounded the other three monsters, who dissolved into nine glowing stars. (Four/Four/One)

_"The mighty ruler of the skies appears! Take down all those that dare try to reach you! Synchro Summon! Titanic Deity-Uranus*!"_

A man with short golden hair appeared on the field. He was tall and muscular, and wore ancient greek robes. They were made entirely out of gold, and he had a leaf crown on his head. He held a golden staff with a crystal orb at the top of it, which glowed a green-blue color. (2700/1400)

"Meet Uranus, the God of the Sky! Ruler of the Heaven and the Sky! He's the Titan that I represent." stated Tobikuma. "Each one of the members of my team has the power of a Titan, or whatever Deity they fight for. As such, they are granted a card that holds that Deity's power. Through these cards is how they are able to come to our realm and fight! Uranus, destroy his Gulldos!"

Uranus' staff glowed brightly, causing the winds to pick up and tear Gulldos to shreds. The powerful gust of wind continued and hit Zeke, cutting him. The cuts that appeared on him were real, and they stung. _'Blood? But-But how? Did that thing do actual damage?'_

"I can see you're surprised. Yes, the wounds are real. Why, you ask? Think. After all the battles so far between the Titans and the Olympians, did you ever bother to think why _this _duel was the official one? Its because this is a shadow duel! Any damage taken here is real, and whoever wins is the one that gets to walk out of here alive!" Tobikuma explained.

Zeke's eyes widened momentarily. The shock of having heard that was great indeed, but he was able to overcome it quickly. "Shadow duel, huh? Well, let's see which is stronger... Your shadow duel, or my psychic powers!" he exclaimed. The shadow duel caught him by surprise, but seeing as how he had fought other psychic duelists in the past, taking real damage wasn't something that he was new to.

Tobikuma ended his turn, thinking up of a way to punish Zeke for his determination.

(3000-4000)

Zeke drew his next card, which was Reeze, Whirlwind of Gusta.

_'Tornado Bird is perfect! I just need to set it to take down his Field Spell. That is, provided he doesn't destroy it before I can use its effect properly.'_

"I set one monster on the field, and switch Garuda into defense mode!" Garuda knelt down and folded his wings around him for protection.

"Also, Eguls' effect activates, allowing me to remove a Wind attribute monster from my graveyard to destroy one of your set cards." Eguls' rider fired a blast of wind from his hand that caused Tobikuma's trap to shatter.

"I also use Garuda's effect to switch your monster into defense mode!" he stated, ending his turn with Uranus kneeling to defend himself.

(3000-4000)

Tobikuma began his turn, causing three small clouds to appear next to Uranus, as well as a fog counter. Eguls gained a fog counter, meaning he has one, and Owl of Luck and Garuda gained a second counter each.

"During my standby phase, Uranus can summon a cloud token to the field. for each face-up monster that you control. Then, during my main phase, I can activate an effect depending on how many cloud tokens I use to activate it, though I can only use one effect per turn. I'll use his first effect, allowing him to gain 400 attack points until the end of my turn at the cost of one token."

One of the tokens disappeared, and Uranus' attack points rose to 3100.

"Attack his Eguls!" Uranus unleashed a fierce whirlwind upon Eguls, not only destroying him, but cutting Zeke even more in the process. Zeke, however, was able to stand his ground.

"Is that all you've got?" asked Zeke, wiping some of the blood off his cheeks.

"I end my turn." he said in disgust.

"And I'll use my Garuda's effect to switch your monster into defense mode once again!"

(2500-4000)

Inside, Zeke smiled as he drew his next card. His plan was working. He would be able to take down Tobikuma soon enough.

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed!" He drew two cards and added them to his hand. They were Windaar, Sage of Gusta, and Winda, Priestess of Gusta.

"I'll follow that up with this! I flip summon Tornado Bird to activate his effect!" A small red and blue bird appeared on the field, shooting a few feathers in Tobikuma's direction. (1100/1000)

Two hit his Cloudian Squall spell card, and the rest hit the walls of the building they were in. Both began to fade away. Soon, the field returned to its previous state as ruins.

"I sacrifice An Owl of Luck to summon Windaar, Sage of Gusta!" The small owl left the field, now replaced by a young man wearing green and brown clothing, reminiscent of that of Robin Hood. He held a silver metal staff, which held a curved blade at the top. (2000/1000)

"You are going down! I switch Garuda to attack mode and have him attack Uranus!"

Garuda stabbed the Titan with its sharp talons, ripping him apart. Moments after, the two remaining tokens shattered.

"Windaar, Tornado Bird, attack directly!" And so they did. Their combined force was enough to knock Tobikuma onto the ground, as well as causing him to obtain multiple wounds. Though he was bleeding, he was able to get up and shoot an angry glare at Zeke.

"I end my turn."

(2500-900)

Obviously, Zeke's friends were the most happy to see him pull off such a powerful move, but some of the other people watching the duel were amazed and glad as well. Hikazu had shown them the duel to scare them into thinking that the Olympians that were fighting for their lives were cowards and weaklings, but instead, this duel was giving them hope. They were starting to believe that Hikazu was lying, and that the Olympians really could save them.

Tobikuma struggled to draw his next card. "D-Damn it!" he shouted out. "I won't let it end like this! I can't lose! I'll destroy you!"

"Why are you doing this anyway?" Zeke wondered. "Why are you siding with the Titans, and why are you so intent on winning this?"

Tobikuma's eyes widened as he heard this. "Why?" he whispered. "I'll tell you why...

"Its because of this world. Its because of the people in this world. I've always loved nature. Back home, I used to hang out in a small forest, climbing the trees and staring up at the sky. Eventually, I witnessed in person the terrors that man commits every day. That forest was torn down violently. A beautiful and peaceful place, and they desecrated it! It was horrifying. As I looked up at the sky, I thought about all the other beautiful places man has destroyed just for monetary gain or some other selfish reason. The sky, it was all I had left. It was still pure, and beautiful.

"When I saw an airplane pass by, it was then that I realized something very important. They sky was still pure, but it wouldn't remain that way for long. Eventually, man would corrupt that as well, and then tear it to shreds!

"So I swore that I would do anything I could to prevent that from happening. Over the years, my hate, as well as my determination, grew stronger. When the Titans began to recruit, Uranus saw that part of me, and knew I was the one who could help him, and in turn he would help me! If I win this duel, then I can use your soul to revive the Sky Scourges! I can change everything, and stop man from destroying the last of this world's purities!

"The power of the Sky Scourges is all I need to win this war and make my wish a reality. The skies will be free of man's corruption, and this world will be renewed! That's why I'm doing this! That's why I'm fighting for the Titans! That's why I won't lose!" he shouted out.

"I'll activate Salvage, taking Acid Cloud and Atlus back from the graveyard. Next, I'll summon Cloudian-Acid Cloud to the field in attack mode!" Acid Cloud appeared on the field again, floating as he always did. (500/0)

"Next, I'll activate the continuous spell, Big Summon Cloud! During my main phase, I can pay half my Life Points to special summon a Cloudian monster from my hand, like Cloudian-Atlus!" Atlus also appeared on the field, with a fog counter around him. (1300/0)

"I activate his effect, removing three fog counters to remove a random card from your hand." The three fog counters disappeared, and Zeke was forced to discard his Foolish Burial spell card. "I'll also have him attack your Tornado Bird!" The large cloud charged at Tornado Bird, crushing him under its body.

"Also, I activate the field spell, The Sanctuary in the Sky, and the continuous spell, Cloudian Squall!" The field changed once again into the large, wealthy buildings, heavily decorated and beautiful.

"Now I'll set a card and end my turn!"

(2300-450)

This was truly a risky move, thought Zeke. If he had a way to remove that field spell, he would have been finished in this turn. However, he didn't, so Tobikuma bet everything he had on the small chance that his field spell would remain for at least one more turn.

He drew his next card, which was Hand of Nephthys.

"I summon Hand of Nephthys!" A young, dark skinned woman appeared on the field. She wore a long fire-red skirt, gold jewelry and armor, and a golden helmet. (600/600)

"I use her effect, and sacrifice her and Garuda to special summon Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys from my deck!" As the young woman went up in flames, Zeke could have sworn that he saw his mother's face on that monster. It caused his heart to stop for a moment. Could it have been her? No. It couldn't have been possible.

From the flames rose a large, golden phoenix. It breathed fire, and it shined so much, it almost blinded everyone. (2400/1600)

"That's it for my turn."

(2300-450)

As Tobikuma drew a card and started his turn, all of the monsters on the field gained a fog counter.

"Now, during this standby phase, I must choose whether to discard my entire hand to keep Big Summon Cloud on the field, or destroy it and keep my hand. I choose to destroy it." The spell card shattered, and he continued with his turn.

"I summon Cloudian-Smoke Ball!" A small, cute, yellow cloud appeared on the field. It was fluffy, and had two big eyes. It curled up into a ball for protection. (200/600)

"Next, I activate White Elephant's Gift! By sacrificing a face-up normal monster on my field, I can draw two cards." The small puff ball disappeared, and he drew twice.

"I'll set two cards on the field, and end my turn."

(2300-450)

Zeke drew his next card. It was Blessings for Gusta.

"I'll set a card and end my turn."

(2300-450)

As Tobikuma started his turn, one of his traps activated.

"I activate the trap card, Needle Ceiling! When there's at least four monsters on the field, this card allows me to destroy them all!" Atlus, Acid Cloud, Nephthys, and Windaar all shattered into pixels as a large wooden ceiling with metal spikes crushed them.

"I summon Cloudian-Cirrostratus!" A fluffy white cloud appeared on the field, with two big blue eyes, a couple of whiskers, and a large round body. (900/0)

"Attack him directly!" The puff cloud rammed Zeke, causing him to move back a couple of feet to maintain his balance.

"I end my turn."

_'This is it! By next turn, I should have this whole thing won! Its impossible for me to lose now!'_ thought Tobikuma.

(1400-450)

Zeke drew a card, but he didn't look at it. It wasn't necessary. The duel was over, and he had won.

Flames burst from the ground, and out of them rose Nephthys. She spread her wings as far as she could, enveloping the whole field with flames.

"What's going on!" shouted Tobikuma, afraid of what might happen next.

"When Nephthys is destroyed by a card effect, she returns to my field on my next standby phase after her destruction. When she returns, she also destroys every spell and trap on the field!"

A horrified look of shock overcame Tobikuma's face. His field spell, his traps. All gone. He was completely defenseless!

"Nephthys, attack his monster and finish this!" The flames engulfed the small cloud, and the whole duel ended with a loud explosion.

When the smoke started to clear, Tobikuma was sitting on the throne, heavily wounded. Zeke, however, was nowhere to be found. At this point, all the television screens went blank for a moment, before returning to the original programming.

* * *

"Damn it! Damn it all! How did he manage to beat me! I was so close..." cursed Tobikuma.

With the presence of a familiar figure being close, Tobikuma's eyes glowed green. He got up and looked at the figure. It was the mysterious duelist that had given him the map that showed the location of this place earlier.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to hold up my end of the deal." he told him.

The mysterious duelist's eyes glowed a bright shade of grey. "You did perfectly well, actually. After all, what I wanted you to do in return was to die."

Tobikuma's eyes widened in shock when he heard this. "W-Why?" he barely stuttered out.

The duelist laughed evilly. "Did you forget what happened in the last war? After we lost, I was forced to hold up the heavens! Zeus' hatred towards me caused me to be singled out, and I was forced to hold you up on a pedestal! Uranus, your reign was over long ago, and I'll be damned if I let you rule this world once more! You've had your chance, and now it is mine!"

Tobikuma's eyes glowed fiercely. "Atlas! You traitor! You'll pay for this!" he shouted out as he fell to his knees, fading away.

"Goodbye, Uranus." he said with a chuckle, leaving this place.

* * *

Zeke was falling. As he fell, he looked up at the sky, and how high he was. Now he understood where he was. Somehow, he was up on a large cloud, and that large cloud was now fire. Off in the distance, a plane was caught in the explosion and crashed into the ocean. It didn't look like anyone made it out alive...

He began to lose consciousness. As he struggled to stay away, a bright light was being emitted by his duel disk. Somehow, and he never even noticed when it occurred, Daigusta Eguls was there. He was flying towards him, the rider's hand outstretched, trying to grab him. As he lost consciousness, he was sure that the rider looked a lot like his father...

* * *

Off on a large cruise ship, at the very edge of the deck, stood Blake. He was staring out at the ocean, deep in thought. Suddenly, a small spirit in the form of an angel appeared on his shoulder. It was the spirit of his Shining Angel card.

"You know, when I told you not to get on that plane, it wasn't just because something bad was going to happen to it. I wanted you to stay in Neo Domino. Your friends need you." he told Blake.

"I appreciate the warning. I'm glad that you did that, but unfortunately, I cannot stay in Neo Domino. They are strong enough to do this on their own, and I'll just be a hindrance..." Blake replied.

**End of Chapter 25.

* * *

**

_For the next few chapters, we'll follow Blake around, and see what he's up to. All the while checking on Team Inferno as they try to learn more about each other and become closer as a team. Wretches and Kings is next.

* * *

_

A/N: Well, that was a long duel. Hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm also looking for a couple of OC's to be featured in the next few chapters of the story. If interested, PM me or write it in a review.

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Storm Cloud- Monster Card

Type: Fairy/Tuner

Attribute: Water

Level: 1

ATK: 700

DEF: 0

Description: A small grey cloud that could eventually turn into a powerful thunderstorm.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Uranus - Monster Card

Type: Fairy/Synchro

Attribute: Wind

Level: 10

ATK: 2700

DEF: 1400

Effect:

"1 Wind tuner + 1 or more non-tuner monsters"

During your each of your standby phases, summon a Cloud Token (Level 1/Attack 0/Defense 0/Wind/Fairy) in defense mode for each face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field. The tokens cannot be used for a tribute summon, and cannot attack. Once per turn, during your main phase, you can sacrifice a number of token to activate one of the following effects:

1 token: Increase Uranus' attack points by 400 points until the end of the turn.

2 tokens: For this turn, this monster can attack twice.

3 tokens: Destroy two spell or trap cards on your opponent's side of the field.

If this card is removed from the field, destroy the tokens.

* * *

_(A/N: Though it wasn't shown here, Uranus, like all other Titanic Deity monsters, has his own assault mode. It is similar to Eye of the Typhoon, only it is larger, grey, and has two eyes and a giant mouth with razor-sharp teeth.)_

Titanic Deity-Uranus/Assault Mode - Monster Card

Type: Fairy

Attribute: Wind

Level: 11

ATK: 3100

DEF: 1700

Effect: During your each of your standby phases, summon a Storm Token (Level 1/Attack 0/Defense 0/Wind/Fiend) in defense mode for each face-up monster on your opponent's side of the field. The tokens cannot be used for a tribute summon, and cannot attack. Once per turn, during your main phase, you can sacrifice a number of token to activate one of the following effects:

1 token: Increase Uranus' attack points by 700 points until the end of the turn.

2 tokens: Destroy two cards on the field.

3 tokens: Inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent for each token that was sacrificed.


	26. Chapter 26: Wretches and Kings

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Tear Away by Drowning Pool

* * *

_

**Chapter 26: Wretches and Kings**

Blake walked along the deserted streets of Los Angeles. A once magnificent city now turned into ruins. It was obvious that something bad had occurred here, and Blake couldn't shake the feeling that it involved the war that was going on between the Olympians and the Titans. It seems they weren't lying when they said that this war would be a global one.

It was pretty hard for him to walk around. It was extremely cold. Too cold, in fact. Temperatures around here weren't too far from making snow. Though he had a heavy coat on and some thick jeans that he took from a clothing store he passed some time back, it wasn't enough to keep him warm.

If the cold wasn't bad enough, he also had to deal with a severely hindered vision. There was a thick, purple fog covering the whole city. Fortunately for him, though, Shining Angel floated just a couple of feet before him, his glow allowing him to have some visibility as he walked.

He heard a quick mechanical roar, and his eyes glowed a light-blue color, with circuit lines appearing around his pupils. He was silent for a moment, hearing something coming his way. _'Footprints...'_ he thought. He turned around, which is where the steps were coming from. As soon as the figure got close enough, Shining Angel's glow allowed Blake to see the man clearly. He was taller, dark-skinned, and muscular. He had many rings on his ears and a triangular marker on his forehead. He was wearing a large black trench coat, and carried a green backpack and a duel disk.

"Well... Look who it is! Didn't expect to find you around here!" exclaimed the man.

* * *

Back in the Satellite, the Titans regroup once again. Hikazu was about to discuss the fall of Tobikuma, one of their teammates. Needless to say, he was furious.

"How the Hell did we allow the Olympians to obtain a victory!" he demanded.

"Lack of good leadership?" guessed Kichigai, with a smug look on his face.

"Its due to lack of research." stated Atlas, cutting off Hikazu so that his temper wouldn't ruin the meeting. "You asked Tobikuma to fight an Olympian. First, you let him fight Azekial Naganori. His deck consists of Winged Beast-Type monsters. One well-known fact about those kind of monsters is that their effects consist of getting rid of their opponent's spells and traps, of which Tobikuma's deck relied on to maintain full control of the field." Hikazu nodded, understanding that Atlas was right about this.

"Also, you didn't know that Tobikuma was acting under the influence of Uranus, the Sky Titan. Uranus has been attempting to obtain control over the Titans, and later the Olympians, since he was dethroned by Cronus. During the last war, he had an army of powerful creatures led by beings called the 'Sky Scourges'. These beings were defeated and imprisoned by the Olympians at the end of the last war. Uranus became so obsessed with regaining his throne, that he sought out to revive these beings through the war. However, he needed to find them first. Because of this, he split his power amongst many duelists that would act as his vessels during this war. Unfortunately for Tobikuma, he got the short end of the stick when it came down to distribution of power." he explained.

"I see..." muttered Hikazu. Atlas was right. It seems he didn't do enough research. Though he knew this to be true, he would never admit it. Admitting it would be like saying that Kaiser was a better leader than he was, and he would never allow this.

"So what's our next move?" asked Takahiro.

"Your next move should be to fix this." stated an unknown voice. Everyone looked to the door, and saw a dark-skinned young man with short spiky white hair standing there, wearing a cloak that hid the rest of his body.

"Who are you?" asked Hikazu. Everyone else thought the same thing, except for Payne, who already knew who it was.

"My name is Eli." said the young man, introducing himself to the group. "I am merely a messenger at this moment, so have no fear." he told them, causing expressions of discomfort and irritation to appear amongst the group.

"What message?" asked Hikazu, gritting his teeth as he tryed to control his temper.

"They said that you must obtain a victory within the next three days." he said.

"Or what?"

"Or they'll start making changes to the group, like adding a leader fit enough to win this war!" Eli exclaimed.

Hikazu opened up his hand, and began to prepare a fireball to throw at Eli. If there's one thing he couldn't handle, it was people telling him he was a poor leader. Eli, however, caught onto this quickly enough, and put out the fire. Within the blink of an eye, he used an unknown force to push Hikazu against the wall and held him there.

"I'm warning you. I, the Marquis of Darkness, have no mercy. I'm one of the possible candidates for your replacement, and if I get assigned here, you'll see what I can really do..." he told him. Hikazu fell to the floor, the thud heard clearly by everyone. Eli covered himself in a dark shroud and faded into the shadows.

Though everyone looked at Hikazu as he calmly got and took his seat, they remained quiet, except for Kichigai and Shione, who couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like Hikazu is going to get demoted!" Kichigai exclaimed.

Hikazu chuckled. "For that little outburst, you get to be the next one to fight! As a special treat, you can even fight that Olympian that defeated Kaiser. I'm sure your duel will be very interesting..." he stated, leaving the room soon after.

* * *

"So, what have you been up to, Crusher?" asked Blake, who was sitting opposite of Crusher and a small roaring fire.

"Well, after I found out about all this stuff about a war between Titans and Olympians, I also found out I was meant to be a part of it. Greuto and I were the firsts to be taken down by Placido. That's the reason I disappeared and ended up here. I don't really know what happened with the rest of my friends, though." he said sadly.

"Kaiser is with the Titans... We've crossed paths a couple of times already." he told him. "I haven't seen Tueur, though."

Crusher felt somewhat relived to know what happened with his friends, though he wasn't happy with it. "I see... As I was saying, we met up with the Olympians that are fighting here and joined them. We've been doing a lot of recon and trying to figure out what's been going on. The Olympians have been cut off from almost all communication, while the Titans seem to be able to send messages back and forth with ease."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Some places get lucky enough to send a message and get a reply. With others, like Japan for example, we get no access. We figure that the places that are inaccessible are the ones that the Titans are focusing onto the most. Meaning, that those places are important in this war. Winning there gives a huge advantage to the side that wins."

Blake nodded. Though he was trying to escape this war and everything related to it, he felt obliged to listen to this.

"So far, we've gotten a good idea of the amount of enemies we are dealing with, though we still don't know much about them. Here we are up against a God who calls himself Zera the Mant. His subordinates, Demise, the King of Armageddon, and Ruin, the Queen of Oblivion, are also his strongest soldiers. They've easily damaged most of the country by themselves.

"In China, whatever team is there is up against impossible odds. We believe that the Society of Light has taken hold of it, and the White Knights are their enforcers. Some of the desert countries in northern Africa say that they are up against a powerful demon. They call him Gandora, the Dragon of Destruction. However, they mention stories of a brave fighter known as Mirage Knight that is trying to protect them.

"The rest of Africa is being terrorized by the Skeleton Knight, though he's having trouble against the powerful forces of the Supreme Arcanite Magician. Parts of Europe have reported monster known as Van'Dalgyon, the Dark Dragon Lord. Fortunately, the three Great Dragon Lords are battling against him. India has become the battleground of a battle between the Darklords and the Archlords.

"Australia is under attack by the four Princes of Hell, led by Belial, the Marquis of Darkness. The Parshaths are fighting them as we speak. Though I have no more knowledge of the locations regarding all the others, I do know this: Dark Balter the Terrible is fighting Arcana Knight Joker, a being calling himself the 'Ambitious Gofer' is allied with the Titans, and so is Voltanis the Adjudicator. The Archfiends as well are fighting alongside the Titans. The Olympians, though have a group of skilled fighters who call themselves the 'Guardians', the Destiny Heroes, and the Elemental Heroes.

"Sadly, that's all we've been able to find out. Recently, we've been investigating rumors of duelists using, as they call it, 'the power of the Orichalcos', but we've reached a dead end." said Crusher.

Blake stared at the roaring fire for a moment. "Seems like this war is bigger than I thought... I'm starting to think it was stupid of me to try and run from it..."

Crusher placed a hand on Blake's shoulder. "Come on, don't beat yourself up like that. War isn't easy. We don't always know what to do, or why exactly we need to fight. Doesn't change the fact that we have to fight. Why did you try to run from it, anyway?"

Blake narrowed his eyes. "Because I can't fight. I thought I could, but I was wrong. I joined this war alongside people I quickly ended up calling my friends. I never truly knew the extent of it, or what would happen afterward. I was treating it almost like if it was a game, oblivious to the fact that it was dangerous." He paused for a moment, and Crusher was about to speak, when Blake continued.

"I remember a girl back in London. She was a great person, and I promised to always be at her side. She had betrayed me, and her betrayal almost cost me my life. In return, I broke my promise to her. Soon after, I left for Neo Domino, hoping to start a new life and forget about what happened in the past. I was never able to do that, though. I still love her. I kept hoping that she would be alright, despite me leaving her. I should have stayed by her side, like I promised her. Then... Then I saw her again. A few days back. We dueled, and I wanted to tell her that I was sorry. Sorry that I broke my promise, and sorry that I left her behind. The words I wanted didn't come out, though. They were pushed down by my anger. All the things I tried not to say after she betrayed me, they came out. I felt angry. Not because of what she did to me, but because of what she did to herself. She joined the Titans. If I continue in this war, it would mean her death. I don't want her to die..." he said, trailing off.

Crusher was silent for a moment, thinking of a way to make Blake feel better. "If you really love her, then try to find a way to save her. If you can't, you can try and end this war quickly, so she won't be completely drawn in by the Titans' influence. Other than that, the only thing you can do is tell her what you said. At least this way, your last memories of each other will be good ones."

Though he still looked sad, Blake cheered up a little on the inside. Crusher was right. The least he could do was make their last memories of each other happy ones.

"That was pathetic! Losers like you two shouldn't even be fighting in this war! You are a waste of space!" shouted a tall Caucasian man. He was about as tall as Crusher, had short blonde hair, wore a dog tag around his neck, and wore green cargo pants and a white undershirt. Next to him stood a girl, shorter than him, with long blonde hair, a black tee, grey pants, and a white scarf wrapped comfortably around her neck.

Crusher and Blake got on the defensive, but it was Crusher who was the most wary. "Russel and Simone. Why on Earth are _you_ two patrolling the streets, especially at this time of night?"

With a deadly glare, Simone answered his question. "We were told that a suspicious person somehow made it into our battleground. Zera the Mant said this person's prescense didn't feel right, so he told us to check it out. Neither one of you would know about this, would you?" she asked, her eyes shifting between Blake and Crusher as she examined them.

"Why no, we don't." replied Crusher.

Simone's eyes focused on Blake. "Really? I don't recall seeing you around here before. Where have you been hiding?"

"I could say the same thing about the two of you." Crusher quickly stated.

She shot him another glare. "You could, but we've still been here all this time. Just because you don't know where to look doesn't mean you can say we've been hiding. Now, if you are done wasting our time, we'd like to take your little friend over to Zera to see what he's got to say about this."

"Why would you want to take him?" asked Crusher. "Your tone makes it sound like he's the one you guys are looking for."

"Well he is!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at Blake. "Did you honestly think we couldn't feel your strange aura? We can spot it a mile away! I can guarantee you that we won't be leaving here without you!"

Crusher was about to speak, but he was quickly interrupted by Blake. "If you really want me to go with you, you'll have to make me."

Russel smiled evilly. With a rough voice, he replied. "That's fine by me. Let's have a two-on-two duel. If we win, you'll come with us. If you win, you are free to go."

"Russel, in case you forgot, I'm the diplomatic one here! You should have left this to me." Simone stated.

"I think we can both see where this is going, and its nowhere near your area of expertise. Now is the point where we duel and get this over quickly." he replied.

Crusher and Blake activated their duel disks. "You're on!" they exclaimed.

Simone and Russel answered them back by activating their own duel disks.

(4000/4000-4000/4000)

Simone, of course, couldn't help herself from going first. "I'll set a monster on the field and end my turn."

(4000/4000-4000/4000)

Now it was Blake's turn. He drew his sixth card and scanned his hand. He held Return from Different Dimension, Fusion Guard, Y-Dragon Head, DUCKER Mobile Cannon, Trigon, and Reckless Greed.

"I summon Y-Dragon Head in attack mode!" With a screeching roar, Y-Dragon Head appeared on the field. (1500/1600)

"Now I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000/4000-4000/4000)

Russel started his turn, eager to start fighting. "I summon Card Guard in attack mode!" A large fiendish creature appeared on the field. Its body was shaped like a manta ray, but it had a red/white bony exoskeleton that protected it. Its demonic face was upsetting, since this wasn't exactly the type of creature that was known for its beauty. (1600/500)-(1900/500)

"He gets a guard counter when he's summoned, and gets an extra 300 attack points for each one. I'll set one card and end my turn."

(4000/4000-4000/4000)

Crusher looked at his hand. He held no monsters to build up a defense, but that wouldn't stop him. His hand contained Magic Cylinder, Shrink, Great Maju Garzett, Super Conductor Tyranno, Curse of Darkness, and Black Tyranno.

"I'll set three cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000/4000-4000/4000)

Now it was Simone's turn, and she wasn't going to pull punches. "I'll flip summon the monster I set last turn. Night Assailant, come on out!" A figure dressed in a black cloak appeared on the field. He held a jagged sword. (200/500)

"When he's flip summoned, he can destroy one monster on the field!" The assailant threw the sword at Y-Dragon Head, causing it to explode.

"I summon Archfiend's Soldier!" A fiendish monster appeared on the field. It looked like a smaller version of Summoned Skull, and it wore a long purple cape. (1900/1500)

"Attack!" They ganged up on Blake, more than halving his Life Points in one fell swoop.

"I end my turn."

(1900/4000-4000/4000)

Blake drew a card, wondering how to even up the field. He had drawn Z-Metal Tank.

"I set a monster on the field and end my turn."

(1900/4000-4000/4000)

Russel drew his next card. "I'll set a card and have Card Guard attack Crusher directly!"

Card Guard attacked, but was quickly repelled by an invisible barrier and was thrown at Russel.

Russel pushed the fiend off and got up. "What the hell was that!" he demanded.

"I activated my trap card. Magic Cylinder reflects your attack right back at you!" Crusher explained.

Russel growled and ended his turn.

(1900/4000-4000/2400)

Crusher drew Gene-Warped Warwolf.

"I summon my Gene-Warped Warwolf in attack mode!" His Gene-Warped Warwolf appeared on the field with a large appetite. He was ready to attack whatever monster he could. (2000/100)

"Attack Night Assailant!" The warwolf grabbed the assailant with two of its four hands and then tore it to shreds.

"I end my turn."

(1900/4000-2200/2400)

Needless to say, Simone wasn't happy with this.

"I'll set a card and summon Grave Squirmer in defense mode!" A large hulking mummy appeared on the field, defending himself with his arms. (0/0)

"Archfiend Soldier, attack Blake's monster!" Archfiend Soldier fired off a bolt of lightning at the monster, causing it to explode. It was DUCKER Mobile Cannon, and it allowed Blake to choose a level four monster from his graveyard and add it to his hand. He chose, of course, Y-Dragon Head.

"I end my turn."

(1900/4000-2200/2400)

Blake drew his next card, Frontline Base.

"I activate the continuous spell, Frontline Base. With this, I can special summon a level four or lower Union monster from my hand once per turn. Come back out, Y-Dragon Head!" Y-Dragon Head appeared on the field again, staring at its opponents. (1500/1600)

"Next, I'll summon Z-Metal Tank, and also equip him to Y-Dragon Head!" Z-Metal Tank appeared on the field, and quickly combined with Y-Dragon Head. (1500/1300)

This caused Y-Dragon Head's attack points to increase to 2100.

"Y-Dragon Head, destroy her Archfiend Soldier!" The machine fired a laser from its mouth, leaving no trace of Archfiend Soldier.

"That's all for this turn."

(1900/4000-2000/2400)

Russel began his turn.

"I'll begin by moving my monster's Card Counter onto Simone's Grave Squirmer. Then, I'll activate the spell card, Creature Swap! This allows us to choose a monster and switch it with our opponent's monster. Since you only have your Y-Dragon Head, and I only have Card Guard, those are the only ones we can choose." The monsters switched controllers, Y-Dragon Head becoming Russel's monster while Card Guard became his monster.

"Now I activate the ritual spell card, End of the World! I'll sacrifice your monster, and the Doomsday Horror I hold in my hand, to summon Demise, King of Armageddon!"

Y-Dragon Head, equipped with Z-Metal Tank, was sucked into a swirling portal.

A large blue beam rose out of the ground with a mighty speed, causing the ground itself to shake. Out of the beam came out a large fiendish creature. It was a big, hulking, undead skeleton wearing heavy, thick armor. He was wielding a large, two-sided axe in his hands. (2400/2000)

"Attack his Card Guard!"

Demise sliced the creature in half with his axe, leaving a small impact crater on the ground beneath.

"That's it for now."

(1300/4000-2000/2400)

Crusher drew Forbidden Chalice.

"I sacrifice Warwolf to summon Great Maju Garzett!" Warwolf was replaced by the hideous beast known as Great Maju Garzett. (0/0)-(4000/0)

Blake remembered Garzett. Crusher had pulled off this same move at the WRGP, obtaining Team Enigmatic's first victory.

"I've always hated that monster..." muttered Simone. She had some experience when it came to dueling Crusher.

"Attack Demise!" As strong as Demise was, even he was no match for the crushing force that was exerted from Garzett's fist.

"Your turn, Simone."

(1300/4000-2000/400)

"I summon Phantom Skyblaster in defense mode." A fiendish green demon appeared on the field. It was hunched, had two rotted wings, and a pair of cannons on its back. (1100/800)

"His effect allows me to summon a skyblaster token for each monster that you control!" A small fiend appeared on the field. It was green and blue, like its summoner, but it was mostly a ball with two small wings. (500/900)

"I end my turn."

(1300/4000-2000/400)

Blake drew Nanobreaker next. _'Just what I needed!'_ he thought.

"I use the effect of Frontline Base to special summon a Union monster from my hand. Come on out, Trigon!" A flaming dragon emerged onto the field. (500/1700)

"Now I summon Nanobreaker!" Nanobreaker appeared on the field, gripping her sword tightly. She was ready for battle, as she knew Blake was. (1600/1800)

"I equip Nanobreaker with Trigon!" Trigon ran head first into Nanobreaker's sword, fusing with it. Now she held a flaming katana, a sort of tribute to Salamandra.

"Nanobreaker, destroy Phantom Skyblaster!" She swung her sword, releasing a fireball that flew rapidly toward its target.

"I activate the trap card, Hate Buster!" shouted Simone, her trap card revealing itself. "When you attack one of my Fiend-Type monsters, this card stops your attack, destroys your monster, and you take damage equal to that monster's attack!"

The fireball was reflected back, and Nanobreaker remained on the field.

"Why are you still alive?" she asked.

"Because." He pointed to one of his activated trap cards. "Fusion Guard can be activated when I'm going to take effect damage. At the cost of a random fusion monster being sent to my graveyard, I can negate your trap's activation and effect, and then destroy it!"

With that cleared up, Nanobreaker attacked once more. This time, she was able to destroy Phantom Skyblaster.

"Trigon's effect now activates, allowing me to special summon a level four Light attribute monster from my graveyard." Y-Dragon Head appeared on the field, shielding itself with its wings. (1500/1600)

"My turn is done."

(1300/4000-2000/400)

Russel began with his turn, and after the defeat of his strongest monster, he was looking for some payback.

"I activate the spell card, Allure of Darkness! I get to draw two cards. Then I discard one Dark monster from my hand. If I don't have a monster to discard, then I lose my whole hand." He drew twice, and then discarded one card from his hand.

"Now I summon, Mad Archfiend!" A new monster appeared on the field. It looked like a very eccentric shaman, though it also looked to be undead. (1800/0)

"Next, I activate the spell card, Creature Swap! Trading in my Archfiend for Garzett!" The two monsters switched sides, Garzett now staring down at his former master.

"Garzett, attack!" Garzett threw a punch, and Crushed braced himself for impact. Nothing had happened. Mad Archfiend was gone, but his Life Points were still alright.

"What happened!" he exclaimed.

"You fucking moron!" shouted Simone. "Mad Archfiend goes into defense mode when he's attacked! You just wasted a perfectly good turn!"

"Like you can do better!" he replied. They were about to continue with their little sibling rivalry, but they were quickly interrupted by Blake, who cleared his throat and motioned for Russel to finish his turn.

"I end my turn."

(1300/4000-2000/0)

Crusher began his turn, knowing full well that losing Garzett was not the end of the world. Gigantes.

"I remove the Gene-Warped Warwolf from play to special summon Gigantes!" A large, red ogre appeared on the field. He wielded a long tree trunk as a club, and wore a thick, cemented breastplate and skirt. (1900/1300)

"I activate the quickplay spell, Forbidden Chalice! At the cost of a monster's effect, this can gives that monster 700 extra attack points! I'm using it on Garzett!" Garzett's attack points were due to its effect. Since its effect was negated, its attack points reverted back to zero, before rising up to 700.

"Gigantes, destroy Garzett!" Gigantes swung the tree trunk with all his strength, causing Garzett to shatter into pieces upon impact.

Russel had been defeated, and now it was up to Simone to try and beat both Blake and Crusher at the same time.

"Well, that's all I can do for this turn."

(1300/4000-2000/0)

"I'll make you guys pay for defeating my idiot brother!" she stated. She was always defending her brother, while insulting him at the same time.

"I activate the spell card, End of the World!" Once again, a huge beam of blue energy shot out from the ground. She discarded two of the cards in her hand, and from the beam walked out the new monster.

She was a fairy. Her body was slender, and she herself was tall. Taller than her summoner, at the very least. She looked much like a spellcaster, using a similar robe, though hers was tighter than it would normally be. She also held a weapon much like Demise's axe, though the blades were smaller and were close enough to each other for her weapon to be considered a spear. (2300/2000)

"Meet Ruin, Queen of Oblivion!"

**End of Chapter 26.

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_Simone's summoned Ruin, Demise's counterpart. Blake and Crusher seem to have an advantage, but they'll soon see why she's stronger than her brother. Don't miss: Kings and Queens.

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A/N: I'm still accepting OC's, and would like to see a couple to add to my story. Get to thinking, people. ;D Anyway, this story still has quite a way to go, but you'll soon start to see things heating up. Keep reading, and don't forget to review.


	27. Chapter 27: Kings and Queens

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Change Your Mind by All American Rejects  


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**Chapter 27: Kings and Queens**

Blake and Crusher have been caught up in a duel against Simone and Russel. These two are fighting on the Titans team over in Los Angeles. Since Blake isn't supposed to be there, and Crusher is their enemy, they decided to duel in hopes of taking down two of their enemies at once. Due to their inability to work together as a team, Crusher and Blake managed to take down Russel, leaving Simone outnumbered. However, her deck is a lot stronger than they believe, and they are about to see her true strength.

(1300/4000-2000/0)

"I'll make you guys pay for defeating my idiot brother!" she stated. She was always defending her brother, while insulting him at the same time.

"I activate the spell card, End of the World!" Once again, a huge beam of blue energy shot out from the ground. She discarded two of the cards in her hand, and from the beam walked out the new monster.

She was a fairy. Her body was slender, and she herself was tall. Taller than her summoner, at the very least. She looked much like a spellcaster, using a similar robe, though hers was tighter than it would normally be. She also held a weapon much like Demise's axe, though the blades were smaller and were close enough to each other for her weapon to be considered a spear. (2300/2000)

"Meet Ruin, Queen of Oblivion! Next, I activate the trap card, Metalmorph! I can equip it to Ruin, increasing her attack points by 300 points. Now, attack Gigantes!"

Crusher smirked. If there was one thing he knew how to do, it was overpower someone. "I activate the quickplay spell, Shrink! This cuts your monster's attack points in half!" he stated with a chuckle. He was confident that he effectively countered her move.

To his surprise, however, Ruin, whose skin was now covered in a thin layer of metal, cut through Gigantes with ease.

"How can this be?" he wondered.

"When a monster equipped with Metalmorph attacks, it gains half the attack points of the monster it is attacking. So, even though you cut my monster's attack points, thanks to Metalmorph and its effects, Ruin's attack points remained at 2300, allowing her to destroy your monster." Simone explained.

Gigante's effect activated, wiping away all the spell and traps on the field. Before his cards were destroyed, however, Blake tried to make the most of what he had. "I activate the trap card, Reckless Greed, allowing me to draw two cards by skipping my next two draw phases." He drew twice and watched as his spells and traps were destroyed, along with Trigon.

Ruin's attack points were now at 1450. "Metalmorph may have been destroyed, but that's not a bad thing. You see, Ruin has a nice effect. When she destroys a monster by battle, she can attack once again! And since you have an empty field..." She motioned for Ruin to attack.

Crusher staggered backward, somehow managing to regain his balance and preventing himself from falling. "Heh. That one caught me by surprise, but its not enough to stop me."

Simone smirked, and finished her turn.

(1300/2150-2000/0)

Blake started his turn. Due to the use of Reckless Greed, he wasn't able to draw a card, but the ones he drew through the use of Reckless Greed were good enough for now. They were X-Head Cannon and Fusion Weapon.

"I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode!" X-Head Cannon appeared on the field, taking a quick glance at Blake before focusing on Simone. (1800/1500)

"I remove from play both Y-Dragon Head and X-Head Cannon to special summon XY-Dragon Cannon in attack mode!"

X-Head Cannon attached itself to Y-Dragon Head's back, forming a new machine known as XY-Dragon Cannon. (2200/1900)

"That thing is about a hundred attack points short of being a match for Ruin." stated Simone.

"I activate the equip spell, Fusion Weapon, and equip it to XY-Dragon Cannon!" The machine's arm glowed, transforming into a long metal claw, crackling as the electricity running through its circuitry escaped into the air. Its attack points were now 3700.

"Attack Ruin!" The machine held up its clawed arm at Ruin. It created a small orb of compressed electricity and shot it at Ruin. The orb exploded violently as the electricity was freed upon contact with Ruin's skin, causing her to be disintegrated in an instant.

"Nanobreaker, destroy Grave Squirmer!"

"Destroy? Please. Grave Squirmer has a guard counter, preventing his destruction! Meaning, your Nanobreaker's effect won't work!" she exclaimed.

Blake was surprised to find that what she had said was true. Nanobreaker attempted to cut through Grave Squirmer, but the guard counter got in her way and blocked her attack.

"In that case, I'll set a card and end my turn."

(1300/2150-600/0)

As Crusher drew a card, he desperately hoped for a monster. That way, he could prevent her from summoning too strong a monster and allowing Blake to take her down on his next turn.

"I summon Chainsaw Insect!" This was the second time that Blake had seen him summon that monster. It was a small bug, though larger than it should be, with two massive chainsaws that protruded from its jaw. (2400/0)

"Attack Grave Squirmer." The small bug tore the undead mummy into pieces with the chainsaws that stuck out of its jaw.

"Unfortunately, Chainsaw Insect's effect allows you to draw a card whenever it destroys one of your monsters. I end my turn."

"Fortunately for me," began Simone. "Grave Squirmer's effect is that he allows me to destroy a card whenever he's destroyed by battle." She shot a look at XY-Dragon Cannon, causing the machine to shatter into pieces.

(1300/2150-600/0)

"I set a monster on the field, and activate Creature Swap, switching my monster for Chainsaw Insect!" Chainsaw Insect moved to Simone's field, while Simone's hidden monster moved to Crusher's field. Crusher could tell things were about to go horribly wrong.

"Chainsaw Insect, attack his face-down monster!" Chainsaw Insect tore the hidden monster to shreds, and a faint image of the hidden creature was seen just before it was destroyed.

"The monster I destroyed was Spear Cretin, and when it is destroyed after being flipped face-up, it allows us all to special summon a monster from our graveyard either in face-up attack position, or face-down defense position." Ruin appeared on her field once again, standing next to Chainsaw Insect. (2300/2000)

On Crusher's field, Gene-Warped Warwolf appeared once again. (2000/100)

Blake, however, decided to set his monster, just in case his opponent would try to destroy it first.

"Now, I'll equip her with Cestus of Dagla, increasing her attack points by 500, and Big Bang Shot, further increasing her attack points by 400 points." As they looked at a Ruin with 3200 attack points, they could see the true power of Simone's deck.

At first, Ruin didn't seem very powerful, but give her this many attack points, as well as a chance to attack twice _and_ piercing damage, and they could see how scary this monster could become. They weren't safe even if they defended, and if they only had one monster on their field, they would be as good as dead.

"I set one card on the field and end my turn."

(1300/2150-600/0)

"I flip summon my face-down monster, VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!" An immensely large machine, composed of X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, W-Wing Catapult, and V-Tiger Jet, appeared on the field, with many lasers and other weapons adorning the outside of its body. (3000/2800)

"You're finished, Simone. My monster's effect allows me to remove from play one card on your field. So, I'll destroy your monster and take out three cards at once!" Dragon Catapult Cannon fired its many weapons, but the set card on Simone's field activated, blocking them all.

"My counter trap, Dark Illusion, allows me to negate a card effect that involves the destruction of a Dark attribute monster on my field, and then destroys the card." A dark pulse shot out from the trap, causing Blake's strongest monster to shatter into pieces.

Left with no more moves, Blake reluctantly ended his turn.

(1300/2150-600/0)

Crusher drew Metal Reflect Slime. _'This won't hold me for long. I hope Blake can finish the rest of the duel.'_ he thought.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn."

(1300/2150-600/0)

"Chainsaw Insect, destroy Gene-Warped Warwolf!" Warwolf, though he tried to fight it, was ripped to shreds by Crusher's former monster.

"Ruin, attack him directly and finish him!"

"I don't think so! I activate the continuous trap, Metal Reflect Slime! This summons a Slime Token in defense mode, with 3000 defense points as well." A metallic silver glob of slime appeared on the field, taking the form of a shield. (0/3000)

"That won't stop me, or save you! Attack! Destroy his monster _and _the rest of his Life Points!" Ruin cut through the glob of slime with such a force that there was literally nothing left of the monster. With her quick reflexes, she fit in another attack while standing in the same spot, this time taking Crusher out of the duel.

As Crusher lied on the floor, he smiled. "Its true. Using that card wouldn't stop you from beating me. However, it caused you to waste Ruin's second attack, meaning that Blake will have a chance to stop you."

"At least Cestus of Dalga's effect allows me to regain Life Points equal to the amount of damage I dealt to you." stated Simone as she ended her turn.

(1300/0-4000/0)

Blake, now able to draw again, drew Pot of Avarice. Hope filled his whole body as he activated the card. His eyes glowed a bright light-blue color once again, with the small circuit lines appearing around his pupils again.

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. I can return five monsters from my graveyard to my deck, and then draw two cards." He grabbed DUCKER Mobile Cannon, Z-Metal Tank, Trigon, XY-Dragon Cannon, and VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon and shuffled them back into the deck. He then drew two cards, Limiter Removal and Cannon Wheel.

"I summon Cannon Wheel." A tire with a small engine on its left side, and another on the right, appeared on the field. (500/500)

"I'll tune it to Nanobreaker." Nanobreaker smirked, a look of determination on her face. Cannon wheel turned into two green rings, and then surrounded Nanobreaker, who became four glowing stars.

_"Bring forth a huge explosion! Bring forth annihilation to the cards! Synchro Summon! Roar engines, Combat Wheel!"_

Combat Wheel burst onto the field, its laser eye locking onto Ruin. (2500/1200)

"Now, I'll activate the trap card, Return from Different Dimension! This way, I can return both Y-Dragon Head and X-Head Cannon to my field until the end of my turn." A portal appeared above them, and Y-Dragon Head and X-Head Cannon floated onto the field.

"Next, I activate Limiter Removal! This will double my monsters' attack points, at the cost of having them destroyed at the end of this turn."

Combat Wheel's attack points rose to 5000, while Y-Dragon Head's attack points rose to 3000, and X-Head Cannon's became 3600.

"Combat Wheel, destroy Ruin!" Combat Wheel rammed into Ruin, crushing her under its overwhelming force.

"Y-Dragon Head, X-Head Cannon, destroy Chainsaw Insect and finish this!" They fired off their lasers, decimating Simone's only remaining monster, and her Life Points as well.

The images faded away, and Simone was lying down next to her brother. She opened her eyes wide, as if something had surprised her. In the next moment, she began trembling, and before long she began to convulse. Her brother held her tightly in his arms. "Simone! What's wrong?"

Then, as if the universe was trying to answer his question, a bolt of lightning fell from the skies and struck them. Crusher and Blake both covered their eyes.

The smoke cleared, and there was nothing left but a crater.

"What happened?" wondered Blake.

With a groan, Crusher stood up, holding his hand against his head. "They were beaten. Zera's probably pissed. This wasn't a shadow duel, so he'll most likely let those two live. That just means that they'll be back again." he explained.

"We beat them once, we beat them again." stated Blake.

"No, Blake. This isn't your battleground. Its ours, and we are the ones who have to fight. You have to return to your friends, and help _them_."

Blake stood silent for a moment, thinking about his situation.

"Blake, I need you to trust me on this. I know you don't want to face that girl, but you have to. If you guys are on opposing teams, that means you guys are destined to fight! I don't know if you can fix it. I don't know if you'll make things worse. I don't know what will happen, but I _do_ know that you've got to be with your friends, fighting alongside them. This is a global war. You can't hide from it, and you can't run from it either. Your only option is to stand and fight." Crusher stated.

Crusher's words had managed to get their message across. He was right. He couldn't just keep running, or else he'd never stop. No matter how hard it would be to face his opponent, it would be even harder to let his friends die knowing that he could have stopped that from ever happening. He had to go, and he had to do it now.

"I still have the problem of getting there."

"Leave that to me!" whispered a low voice into his ear.

* * *

Casey, Trent, and Akira were surrounding Zeke, who was lying on a bed. Trent and his team worked hard and found him within a half-hour after the end of the duel. This was surprising, due to the large amounts of rubble, debris, and water that flooded the streets. The storm that Tobikuma had summoned was indeed a strong one.

Though they had no idea how Zeke managed to survive the fall, they were glad. Trent's team, however, were busy throughout the night as they tended to the second-degree burns around Zeke's body. Since they didn't have the same medical supplies as a well-funded hospital, they were only able to reduce the pain, not relieve it. His friends almost couldn't bear to hear his cries of anguish from the night before. They listened to him scream for hours until he passed out from the pain.

Now, after they told them that he had finally become stable, Casey, Akira, and Trent went into the room to check on him. He was still sleeping, but they didn't mind. As long as he got better in the end, they didn't care how long it would take for him to heal.

"I really hope he'll be okay..." whispered Casey.

Akira put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. He's tough. He's gone through worse stuff than this." he told her, trying to make her feel better.

"I really didn't expect things to get this bad, but I'm really glad I prepared for it." he said.

He, contrary to popular belief, was aware of how bad things could get. That was the sole reason why he had his entire team come and help him protect his protectors. His mind drifted back to that fateful day, when he learned of all this.

* * *

_Trent stood before a man dressed in a military uniform. He was muscular, looking bigger and taller than Trent._

_Trent was dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what the man had just told him. The war between Titans and Olympians. A war that would put duelists at their limits, causing them to risk their lives to save the world. A war that would consume the world entirely. Everything now sinking in, he began to come out of his shocked state._

_"That's no problem." he stated, making a fist as he raised up his arm in the air. "Me and my team are strong. We can do this, no problem! We'll take down those Titans with ease!"_

_Brutus shook his head. "No. I'm afraid you won't be facing the Titans."_

_Trent was confused. "What? Then why are you telling me this? I thought this meant that we are the ones who have to fight!"_

_"The people who will be fighting in this war are slowly becoming stronger. Their purpose is to fight. Their purpose is to protect everyone. Your purpose, your team's purpose, is to protect them." Brutus replied._

_Trent blinked twice, trying to understand. "What do you mean?"_

_"This won't be an easy battle. They may get hurt, they may be tricked. They may be ambushed. A lot of things can happen to them. I can feel my time is almost up. Soon, I'll be dead, and the Olympians will be unable to communicate with other people who are fighting as hard as them to protect us from the Titans. This means they can't ask for backup. They can't get any information. They'll all be left alone to their own devices. For the Olympians here, I want you to gather your team and help them. Make sure they survive. If they get hurt, heal them. Whatever they need to do to win this war, I need you to help them accomplish that. You got that?"_

_Trent nodded._

_"Good. One more thing. I need you to promise me that you won't tell them about this."_

_"But how am I supposed to get them to trust me? If I don't tell them about this, they won't believe I'm there to help." he asked._

_Brutus merely smiled. "The time will come when you'll know what to do. When that time comes, you just have to be prepared."

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That was how he came to help Casey and her friends. It wasn't a mere coincidence. Brutus knew he wouldn't be able to help them, and thus, made sure they would be in good hands. _'I'm not sure if we can do this, Brutus, but we'll try our hardest. I promise.'_

Akira, trying not to dirty Zeke's now-clean clothes, picked them up and put them aside. This caused a card to fall out from between Zeke's shirt and pants. All three of them looked at it curiously. It was a trap card known as Statue of the Wicked.

"What's this doing here?" Akira asked.

"One of my teammates said she found it in his pocket." Trent replied.

Akira looked at the card closely. Something about it wasn't right. "I know Zeke's deck has changed, but this doesn't strike me as the sort of card he'd have in his deck..." he muttered.

Trent merely shrugged.

One of Trent's teammates, also one of the mechanics, walked into the room. Everyone turned their attention on him as he cleaned his greasy hands with a dishrag that he'd been using for the past few days. "The Duel Runners themselves are ready. All we need to do is add the finishing designs, and give them a name. I'll be leaving that last part to each of you."

They were silent for a moment, thinking up of a name for the Duel Runners.

"Theinen." Akira said, being the first one to speak.

"Excelion." Casey said next.

"Silpheed." stated Zeke, his voice still weak, but strong enough for them to have understood what he said.

Upon hearing him speak, they all stared at him. Casey's eyes were filled with tears of joy as she held herself back from hugging him, fearing it would hurt him. Akira's eyes weren't any more wet than usual, but he couldn't help smile and feel relieved as he heard his friend speak, a sign that Zeke would be alright.

* * *

"You know he just wants to see you lose so that he'll have one less problem to deal with, right?" asked Shione, who was sitting next to Kichigai, at the edge of the roof. They were staring out at the Satellite.

"I know. You don't have to keep reminding me." he replied.

"But I do. I don't want to lose any more of my friends. Kaiser's gone, Blake hates me. I don't want to lose you too."

Kichigai sighed. "You do know that what we are doing requires that, right? Kaiser was determined to make this a fair war, and now that he's gone, we have to do that for him. We've been hated or hurt by this world, but that doesn't give us the right to have our wishes granted over someone else's. If the only way for my wish to be granted is to fight someone who is as determined to win this as I am, then I welcome the challenge fair and square."

Shione nodded. He was making sense. "And that's all that Kaiser wanted, wasn't it? Right now, the people that are fighting is this war are just dreamers. Dreamers that want to make their dreams come true."

"Watch your back, Shione. You know full well that if I lose, Hikazu will be going after you next. You'll be outnumbered, so you need to be careful around there."

Shione smiled, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Kichigai blushed slightly and turned his head away. "What was that for?"

"For worrying." she said as she gave him a big hug.

"I see..." he said, coughing lightly. She released him from the hug, smiling as she had never seen this side of him before. "Remember to hit hard when its your turn to fight."

"I will." she said, looking out into the horizon.

They might be able to do this. They just might. Kaiser may have fallen, but his friends would keep fighting in his stead. They wouldn't let his efforts die in vain. As long as they still breathed, they would fight for Kaiser, and only him.

**End of Chapter 27.

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_The Olympians are about to face Kichigai once again. The only difference is that now, Kichigai isn't going to hold back. The Wicked Eraser isn't the Olympian's biggest worry. Something far worse is hidden in his deck, and Kichigai is going to unleash its wrath on the Olympians. Statue of the Wicked is next.

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A/N: I'm still looking for one or two more OC's to add in my story. **rainbow2369**, I'd like to thank you for your submission. Much appreciated. I hope you find comfort in knowing that your character will make her debut in a few more chapters. In the meantime, I'm still accepting OC's from anyone that wishes to submit one. Keep reading, and don't forget to review.


	28. Chapter 28: Statue of the Wicked

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Scream With Me by Mudvayne

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**Chapter 28: Statue of the Wicked**

Casey couldn't shake the thought out of her head. Akira wasn't being truthful with them. That much she could tell. Just why, was what she wanted to know. Now she had him cornered. She was going to get answers out of him.

"Why can't you just tell me what happened during your trip to Egypt?" she whined.

"I already told you-"

Casey cut him off. "You didn't really tell me anything. You gave us a story that you probably made up in less than an hour, and no details. I can tell. Something happened, and you don't want to talk about it. I just want to know why you won't tell us. We are your friends! How can we count on you if we can't trust you?"

Akira's eyes widened when he heard this. He was desperately trying his hardest to suppress his anger. How could she have said that? After all he had done for them, how can she say that he can't be trusted? He wanted to fight back, and shout out that it wasn't true. He was determined to keep what happened in Egypt a secret, but Casey was making it hard for him, adding more and more pressure until she managed to corner him.

Akira's eyes narrowed and he looked straight at her. He opened his mouth, carefully trying not to reveal anything about what had happened to him. It was not something he would like to relive. Unfortunately, the words that found their way out weren't any good, either. "Trust me? _Trust_ me? Who the Hell are you to talk!" he shouted out.

Casey was stunned into silence, unsure of how to respond.

"You! You realize what you've done here? You aren't sure if you can trust me? I'm not sure if I can trust you! Since day 1, I haven't been able to trust you. Haven't you realized yet? We had joined the WRGP for only one reason, and it was to bail Matsu out of jail. Now we can't, and its because he's dead! All because of you! You were the cause! If it wasn't for you, Matsu would be safe and sound! He'd be here with us! We would hang out, like we used to. We wouldn't be worried about some stupid war, or risking our lives for a bunch of people that don't even appreciate it! We'd all be happy, together!"

All of his anger, his distrust, had poured out from inside his heart. He didn't even know what he was saying. The words poured out too quickly, and he was unable to stop them. Even worse, he kept going. He had to get it all out of his chest. He had to tell her everything. He wouldn't be satisfied until everything was out in the open.

"Its _your_ fault Matsu is dead. Its probably _your_ fault that we got caught up in this war! Its _you_! If only you hadn't shown up. If only... I honestly wonder what you were thinking that day. Why the _Hell_ would you ever skip that hearing! Matsu loved you, and we could see that in his eyes. He gave up everything for you, but you didn't care! When he needed you the most, you abandoned him! His chance at freedom, taken away by the sadistic woman he thought loved him.

"Seems he was wrong. We, Matsu, Zeke, and I, all risked our lives to free you. Zeke and I weren't doing this for you! We did it for _him_, our friend. We didn't want to see him end up in jail, but he wouldn't hear our protests. He desperately wanted to free you, give you a chance to be free. I was a fool to ever agree to help him!"

Casey's eyes were filled with tears, herself now kneeling before Akira. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It all hurt. It always hurt when she thought about Matsu. She thought she was finally starting to move on, but she realized that she was deluding herself. She couldn't move on at all. Even worse, now she learned of what Akira has always thought, and she had always suspected. Akira didn't trust her at all. He played along, and acted like her friend, all because Matsu was his friend, and because Matsu had loved her. The words from someone she had always considered her friend hurt, like a dagger that someone had stabbed her with, and then kept pushing it deeper and deeper into her.

Akira was also caught up in his delusion. He firmly believed that hurting her would remove his pain. The pain he suffered from losing a friend. The pain he suffered from almost being killed. The pain he suffered from killing someone. The pain he suffered from a friend who didn't trust him. The pain he suffered from hurting a friend...

"You can't trust me! I can't believe those words came out of your mouth! After all I've done for you guys! I traveled to Egypt to get stronger so I could help you! I almost got killed!"

Casey's eyes, still filled to the brim with tears, widened when she heard this.

"Kaiser almost killed me! I'm still not sure how I managed to survive! He _shot_ me! And worse yet, he didn't miss! A bulls-eye, right in my heart! And you can't trust me? I went after him! I took him down! I risked my life not once, but twice! All for you guys! I fought Kaiser already! I _killed_ him! You don't know what that's like! I felt horrible! It was a scary thing to do! It scared me even more to see how Kaiser was able to do something like without giving it a second thought. These people aren't playing around, Casey! They are out to kill you. They are out to kill _us_! They won't stop until they succeed, and they are capable of killing you without a regret! I've been working hard with Trent and his team to make sure that you guys remain safe. If you still feel you can't trust me, good riddance! We don't need you here! _We never did_!"

Panting, and incredibly frustrated, Akira stormed out of the room in a hurry. He wanted to get away. Get away and think. He just wanted to make it all go away. It was all too much for him. He clutched his chest tightly. He could barely breathe...

* * *

Casey remained where she was, covering her face with her hands. The tears wouldn't stop. She kept sobbing, Akira's last two sentences ringing in her head. Was it really true? They never needed her?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and could feel someone standing next to her, but she refused to look. She just wanted to suffer for a bit.

"You should have come to me about this first. I could have told you that it wouldn't have been a good idea to confront him about this." said a familiar voice. Though she didn't check, she knew it was Zeke's voice. It felt soothing and reassuring. He smiled and helped her up, placing a yellow blanket over her shoulders.

She looked at him through her tear-filled eyes. He was covered in bandages and artificial skin that was slowly starting to blend in with his. On a spot on the right side of his head, as well as the back of his hand and a couple more on his chest, blood slowly dripped out. He had removed, forcibly it seems, the small tubes that were inserted into certain areas of his body to allow him to remain in the bed without worry of getting worse.

"I don't think you're supposed to be standing up..." she whispered sadly.

"I can't exactly sleep with you guys talking so loudly." he replied.

She felt slightly shocked that he heard them, but was more surprised by the fact that he risked his health to check on them. "Sorry about that..." she muttered.

Zeke merely smiled, and gave her a hug. She could feel what he wanted to tell her. That there was no need to apologize. That there was no need to cry. No need to feel so sad. Everything would be alright. Things would be back to normal in no time. Her friends were still looking out for her, and she shouldn't worry so much. She should be smiling. She should be happy. But it was too hard for her to be happy. She just couldn't bring herself to do so.

* * *

Minutes later, they were sitting at the dining table. The room itself was really more of a wide hallway, with arched entrances, that connected the living room with the bedrooms. Just like the rest of the apartment, the walls were colored a creamy, and bright, yellow color. They had put in the kitchen on one side, which was pretty small and only let up to two people move around in it at once. There were a few counter tops, with a couple of stools on one side to allow people to sit there and eat. Opposite of that was the dining table. It was small, rectangular, and allowed three people to sit and eat. It was an old oak table that had been left there when the apartment was put up for rent.

Zeke had set a tray of glass teacups filled with chamomile tea between them. "Drink. It'll calm your nerves." he told her.

Casey slowly nodded and took the cup in her hands, staring at her reflection in the green liquid.

Zeke sighed, taking one of the cups. He began to sip some of the tea, slightly wondering if he should be drinking this in his current condition. He brushed the thought aside and spoke. "You'll have to forgive him, you know. He didn't mean it."

Casey remained silent for a moment. "He... He said he had almost been killed. That Kaiser had tried to kill him..."

Zeke nodded. "I know."

Casey quickly looked up at him. "You know? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't know the specifics." he replied. "I mean, I suspected something terrible happened to him, but I wasn't sure what. I was slowly trying to get it out of him, but he wasn't feeling like talking yet. It seems that your confrontation with him drove him over the edge though."

Casey dropped her head again. So, once again, something bad happened because of her. It was _her_ fault.

Almost as if he could read her mind, which wasn't likely, as his psychic abilities weren't of that type, he spoke up again to reassure her that it wasn't her fault.

"Don't get me wrong. It isn't your fault. Thing is, I noticed something very important since he's come back. Whenever his mind drifts off into space, his hand trembles. The very same thing, though I have to admit it is a bit worse, happens whenever he goes to grab his deck. Its as if something about it scares him. It makes him hesitate. Whether its something in the deck itself, or something that the deck reminds him of, I don't know. But I do know he doesn't feel happy about using it."

Casey looked at him, confused.

"Let me tell you something about Akira..." he began, sipping a bit more tea.

* * *

The young man stood in the middle of the street, deep within the ruins of a city that seemed to have felt a god's wrath. He clapped slowly, a smile on his face. His eyes were covered by his ruffled blonde hair, though one could see his blue eyes through his glasses. His clothes were expensive and elegant, the same clothes he wore back in Casey's nightmare.

"Welcome back!" he exclaimed, opening his arms and throwing them into the air in a celebratory fashion.

Behind him was a familiar location. It was one that was only seen in Casey's dream, or rather, her nightmare. It was the ruins of Neo Domino's Party Hall.

On the ground before him, a few yards away, Akira was getting up. He was definitely _not_ happy to be here. "What did you do to me? And why did you bring me here?"

"I had to weaken you so I could transport you here. Shame that poor Casey just felt the betrayal of a close friend, but in war, there must be sacrifices." Kichigai replied. "I brought you here for a fairly simple reason. To duel."

"You _monster_! _You_ made me say all that?"

Kichigai let out a quick chuckle. "I didn't make you say anything. I just thought that maybe Casey should know what her friends _really_ think about her."

Akira's expression switched to anger. "I thought Kaiser was bad. Looks like all of you are _scum_, just like _him."_

In an instant, Kichigai became serious. The ground trembled slightly as his deadly gaze met with Akira's. "The Titans aren't fools, you know. If there's one thing they can learn from humans, its war. The only reason I was added to the Titan's division in Neo Domino is because I am a master at_ psychological warfare_. As for Kaiser, insult him once more, and you'll see how _mad_ I can really become."

"You guys really look up to him, huh? Such a shame that your fearless leader was taken down so easily, huh!" Akira replied.

The ground trembled once again, stronger than before. "Kaiser was a great leader! All he wanted to make sure the war went as stated: _fairly_. If it hadn't been for you, _all_ of you, he'd still be here. Hikazu, Tobikuma, Takahiro, _You_, are all at fault."

"Kaiser wasn't trying to help anyone, you maniacal freak! He was a murderer! Nothing more, nothing less!"

"Your friends have become stronger, as was his intention. He wanted us to test you guys, let you grow from your experiences. Kaiser said that we outnumbered you guys, but as long as you guys were strong enough to handle it, the war would be fair. Had we launched a full-on assault from the very beginning, you wouldn't be alive right now." replied Kichigai.

"Why would Kaiser want a fair war? If the odds are in your favor, then you guys have a better chance at winning!"

"Kaiser is an honorable leader!" Kichigai shouted out. "He wouldn't stoop so low as to use such dirty, underhanded tactics to win this war! He would win with great skill and honor!"

"Kaiser tried to _kill_ me! How is _that_ not considered underhanded!"

Kichigai's eyebrow was raised, a curious look on Kichigai's face. "The Titans made him do it, or else..."

"Or else what?"

"Tell me, Akira. Do you know why we use Shadow Duels?"

Akira shook his head.

"As part of the rules of the war, officials battles must be fought through shadow duels. This is because the Titans grant us limited immortality. We are given immunity to disease and physical harm, until a few seconds before we perish. However, shadow duels don't just inflict physical damage. They also inflict damage on the soul. Since we are granted a brief period of immortality, we are susceptible to the damage caused by shadow duels, since it isn't just physical. This way, our immortality doesn't break any of the rules, though it does mean that every duel is a life-or-death duel. This is to prevent us from letting our powers get our heads." he explained.

"What does that have to do with Kaiser?" Akira wondered.

"If he didn't kill you, they would not only strip him of his immortality, but they would also remove him from his position as leader. Therefore, he would be unable to balance out each side and make things fair. He considered it a _'small price to pay for my plans to succeed', _as he often stated."

Kichigai raised up his duel disk and activated it, prompting Akira to do the same. "As for why you are here, its just to take part in the second battle of the war. Seeing as how you killed Kaiser, and how I've been forced to be the next one to duel, I decided it would be nice if I multi-tasked and got vengeance for Kaiser while also taking down an Olympian. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."

* * *

Once again, every television screen and computer monitor in Neo Domino turned on. Hikazu's face was shown as he made another announcement. _"Citizens of Neo Domino! You were very lucky last time! Your warrior showed that he was strong enough to survive the battle! However, now its time for another one of your warriors to show his might! Watch and see if he's strong enough to survive against his very equal!"_ All the television screens and computer monitors switched to a live feed of the duel between Akira and Kichigai.

* * *

Needless to say, Trent and his team were in the garage, watching the announcement on the computer.

"That bastard! So he's already starting another fight? Its got to be a trap! They're probably trying to weaken them with repeated assaults until they win." Trent's fist slammed against the desk, and then turned to the four people in the room with him. "Okay. I need two of you guys to scout out the town while I try to find out where Akira is. If he survives this duel, he'll probably be as hurt as Zeke was, so he'll be needing medical attention."

He pointed to the garage door, and two of his teammates mounted their Duel Runners and drove out into the streets.

Then he turned back to the other two people left. "I need you two to guard Casey at all times. If what I think is true, then after this duel, she'll probably be the next one." They nodded and entered the building.

* * *

(4000-4000)

Kichigai grinned, drawing his sixth card. "I'll have the pleasure of starting this duel. After all, it was all thanks to _you_ that I lost the previous one."

Akira's thoughts moved to the moment of which Kichigai spoke of...

* * *

_He could see her on the ground, crying at Kichigai's harsh words. He couldn't let her feel that way. Kichigai was wrong, and if Casey didn't get it together soon, she would be defeated like everyone else._

_He clenched his fist. The others. He had been too late for all of them. Too late for Zeke, and too late for Blake. Now he was too late for Casey too. He wanted to duel Kichigai himself, and defeat him, but Casey got to him just a few moments before he did._

_"Don't listen to him, Casey!" said he shouted out to her. He noticed that she stopped her crying momentarily, probably trying to figure out who it was that said that. He shook his head, and kept on talking._

_"He's wrong! True power doesn't come from being by yourself! It comes from the bonds that you've made! Those bonds are what make you strong! Its not the cards themselves! Its not where you got them, or even why you have them. Its why you have them, and how you use them that counts! Get up and fight! _

_"You wanted to protect your friends, and now you can! They didn't give you those cards because you were weak! They gave them to you because they wanted to be by your side! They wanted to always be with you! That's why they did it! That's why he did it!"_

_He smiled as he saw her get up. It had worked. She was determined to win. 'Its all up to you, Casey...' he thought.

* * *

_

"I set a monster on the field and set one card. Your turn." stated Kichigai, finishing his turn rather quickly.

(4000-4000)

Akira drew his sixth card and scanned his hand. He held Moai Interceptor Cannon, Des Lacooda, Messenger of Peace, Royal Keeper, Giant Rat, and Golem Sentry.

"I also set a monster on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"And here I thought you would start out with a bang, like you did with Kaiser." Kichigai said as he began his turn.

"Once again, I simply set a monster on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Akira drew Great Spirit. _'He's stalling, though, so am I. I wonder what it is he's planning...'_

"I flip summon Des Lacooda!" The monster he had set last turn appeared on the field. It was a two-humped desert camel. It was covered in bandages to conceal its rotting flesh. (500/600)

"Thanks to its effect, I can draw a card when he's flipped, and I can also set him on the field once again." Akira drew Medusa Worm as Des Lacooda melted back into the shadows.

"I set one monster on the field, and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"I set one more monster on the field in defense mode and end my turn." said Kichigai, obviously setting up for something. Something big.

(4000-4000)

Akira looked at the card he drew. Book of Moon.

"I flip Des Lacooda once again." Des Lacooda appeared on the field once again, allowing Akira to draw a card.

"Next I activate the quickplay spell, Book of Moon, allowing me to flip Des Lacooda face-down. However, I'll just use its effect, flipping it up to draw a card and then flipping it back down."

"Now I'll summon Giant Rat to the field!" The oversized mutant rodent appeared on the field, its red eyes staring at Kichigai. (1400/1450)

"Attack the face-down monster in the middle!" The rodent took a swipe at the hidden monster, and its image appeared briefly before it shattered. A few of the pieces flew at Akira, cutting his arms a bit.

"When Giant Germ is destroyed by battle, you lose 500 Life Points, and I get to summon two more." Kichigai stated. Two large orbs floated on the field, tentacles covering a large part of their surface. (1000/100)

"I activate the continuous spell, Messenger of Peace. This prevents monster with more than 1500 attack points from attacking, at the cost of 100 Life Points on each of my standby phases. I end my turn."

(3500-4000)

Kichigai looked at Akira in the eyes. "I can tell. The reason why you haven't done much is because you are still waiting. Unlike your duel with Kaiser, you don't have the cards needed to summon your strongest monsters. That's why you keep using your Lacooda's effect. You are trying to search your deck as quickly as you can."

Akira gave no response, but the look on his face was enough for Kichigai to determine that this was true.

"I set a card and activate the trap card, Fruits of Kozaky's Studies. This allows me to see the next three cards from the top of my deck and put them back in any order I choose."

"Next I summon Hardened Armed Dragon in attack mode!" A dragon, about the height of an adult, appeared on the field. The dragon had no skin. It was merely a bony body filled in with its organs and muscles. (1500/800)

"I switch my Giant Germs to defense mode and end my turn."

(3500-4000)

Akira drew a card. It was one of the cards he was searching for.

"Giant Rat, attack his dragon!" Giant Rat charged at the dragon, who retaliated by creating a series of soundwaves that shattered Giant Rat to pieces.

Kichigai was not amused. This was the same stunt he used against Kaiser.

"Giant Rat allows me special summon an Earth attribute monster with 1500 attack points or less from my deck, like Criosphinx!" A monster, with the body of a lion, the blue, muscular upper body of a human, and the blue head of a ram, appeared on the field. (1200/2400)

"Next I activate the field spell, Chorus of Sanctuary! This card increases the defense points of all defense posistion monsters by 500 points." Criosphinx's defense points rose to 2900, while the Giant Germs' defense rose to 600.

"I'll activate Des Lacooda's effect once more, allowing me to draw a card and flip hiim face-down." He looked at the card he drew and continued.

"I set one card on the field, set one monster, and switch Criosphinx to defense mode. I end my turn."

(3300-4000)

A dark look appeared on Kichigai's face as he began his turn.

"I sacrifice my two Giant Germ and Hardened Armed Dragon to summon... The Wicked Eraser!"

The large dark beast roared as it appeared on the field. This was the second time that Akira had seen it, but only the first in which he was its target. It truly was a terrifying creature. (?/?)-(8000/8000)

* * *

"Son of a bitch!" Trent shouted out in anger and disbelief. He stared at the monitor, dumbstruck for a moment. "Tho-Those guys had something like this all along! Where the Hell are these guys getting something this powerful?"

* * *

"I trust you remember its effect. It gains a thousand attack and defense points for every card on your field." Kichigai said. "Fortunately for you, however, your Messenger of Peace prevents me from attacking. So, I believe this means that it is now your turn."

(3300-4000)

Akira drew his next card, Desert Sunlight.

"Good thing I saw this coming!" he stated, causing a surprised look to appear on Kichigai's face.

"I flip-summon Medusa Worm! Its effect allows me to destroy one monster on your field, like Wicked Eraser!" The stone worm shot out of the ground, headed for The Wicked Eraser. To Akira's surprise, however, The Wicked Eraser swatted it away with its tail.

"What happened?" Akira wondered, seeing Wicked Eraser still on the field.

"When Hardened Armed Dragon is used for the tribute summon of a level 7 or higher monster, the monster that was tribute summoned cannot be destroyed by card effects." Kichigai explained, laughing at Akira's failed move.

"I set a monster on the field, and flip Medusa Worm face-down."

"Next, I activate Des Lacooda's effect, and set it back on the field, along with another card. I end my turn."

Akira watched as The Wicked Eraser's attack and defense points rose to 10000, but if his plan worked, he wouldn't have to worry about that for long...

(3200-4000)

Kichigai began his turn. "You are really trying hard to stall. Oh well. It really makes no difference to me. I can wait until your deck runs out of cards. Until then, I summon Double Coston to the field in attack mode!" The two headed ghouls appeared on the field, floating around in circles. (1700/1650)

"I end my turn."

(3200-4000)

"Actually, you did just as I wanted." said Akira as he drew a card.

"I flip summon Medusa Worm, using its ability to destroy one of your set monsters." The stone worm drilled through a monster on Kichigai's field, of which the phantom image revealed it to be Marshmallon.

"Next, I flip summon Golem Sentry. Wicked Eraser may be immune to destruction, but it can still be sent back to the hand!" The Wicked Eraser faded out of the field, increasing Kichigai's anger.

"Criosphinx's effect now forces you to discard a card from your hand." Kichigai shot him an angry glare before he discarded one of the cards in his hand.

"To continue, I use Des Lacooda's effect once again to draw a card. Now, I'll sacrifice the Moai Interceptor Cannon I had set on my field to set another monster. I flip Golem Sentry and Medusa Worm back to their face-down positions and end my turn."

(3100-4000)

Surprising, to say the least, Kichigai didn't seem to bothered by Akira's move.

"This is too easy..." he said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?" wondered Akira.

"I sacrifice my Nimble Momonga and Double Coston to summon The Wicked Eraser once more!" Akira's eyes widened as he saw the terrifying beast appear on the field for a second time. (10000/10000)

"But you only had two monsters!" he shouted out.

"Double Coston counts as two monsters during a tribute. Don't worry, though. Those monsters of yours have shown me that they are more threatening to me than I thought. So I use The Wicked Eraser's effect! During my main phase, I can destroy him. And in case you've forgotten, when he's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, all the cards on the field are destroyed!"

The beast released a burst of energy, destroying everything in its path. Within the blink of an eye, all of Akira's cards, as well as Kichigai's, were gone.

Akira looked at one of the cards in his hand, Just before Kichigai's monster destroyed everything, he activated Desert Sunlight, allowing him to fliip his Des Lacooda once again and draw another card.

"Now, I special summon Gilasaurus from my hand. Thanks to his effect, you are allowed to special summon a monster as well." Gilasaurus appeared on the field. (1400/400)

On Akira's field appeared Criosphinx. (1200/2400)

"I end my turn."

(3100-4000)

As Akira drew Continuous Destruction Punch, he couldn't help but admit that Kichigai pulled off a good move. The fields were even, and Kichigai now had the upper hand. Of course, its not to say that he couldn't win, but it certainly made it harder.

"I start by setting two cards on the field. Next I activate the continuous spell card, Continuous Destruction Punch. Now, whenever you attack a defense position monster whose defense points are higher than that of your attacking monster's attack points, your attacking monster will be destroyed." he explained.

"I set a monster and end my turn."

* * *

Zeke sipped a bit more of his tea, still talking with Casey. "Now I can't tell you any details, since these have been kept from me as well, but Akira's past isn't a happy one. It seems that none of our pasts are happy..." he sighed, realizing he was getting carried away by other thoughts.

"Whatever it was that occurred, it made him incredibly touchy when it comes to the subject of trust." he told her.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked, sipping a bit of the tea herself so as to calm her nerves.

"If I remember correctly, the last time I spoke to him about this, which was also the only time, he said the following words: _'It makes no sense at all to live in a world where you can't trust anyone, Zeke. Either it gets fixed, or it is allowed to let it destroy itself.'_" he said, remembering every word.

"Anyways, my point is that we know that Akira is good. There's no reason not to trust him..." he reassured her.

* * *

(3100-4000)

"Why are you even fighting in this war?" Kichigai asked him, beginning his turn.

Akira shot him a curious glance.

"I'm just asking. You see, I told a friend of mine that all of us fighting in this war are just dreamers, wanting to see their dream come true. That was the reason why this war should truly be fair. Because, when dreamers are fighting to make their dreams a reality, it is only their will that should determine the victor." he explained.

Akira's mind drifted into his past. Images of things that had happened to him, growing up in Satellite, seeing his parents being ruthlessly murdered, living on the streets as an orphan, and the constant betrayals that he experienced, and betrayals he made others experience, all flashed before his eyes before he quickly shook his head and pushed the thoughts aside. "No one should ever be alone..." he said in a determined tone.

"I see..." muttered Kichigai, looking at his hand for a moment. "I activate the quickplay spell, Fires of Doomsday. This gives me two Doomsday Tokens." Two tokens, one-eyed spirits made of black flames, appeared on the field. (0/0)

"I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon The Wicked Dreadroot!"

A monster even more fearsome than the previous Wicked God appeared. This one rivaled Obelisk the Tormentor in size, strength, and ferocity. It was its dark counterpart, with green skin and armor that seemed to be bones made out of either steel or chrome. (4000/4000)

"Do you know why I fight?" he asked Akira.

Akira merely shook his head.

"It is because this world needs to be exterminated. Security acts as if they've got everything in control. The reality is that they are nothing but puppets. Goodwin, Yliaster, Divine. Nothing but a bunch of incredibly cunning criminals that have wormed their way to the controls of this city. They do nothing but use people to further their own plans, caring not about the means." he stated.

"You called me a monster. That's quite true, actually. I am a monster created by the very criminals that control this city. I've been created by the _absolute worst_ that this city has had to offer." He let out a quick laugh, sounding as if he were close to losing touch with reality.

"What the Hell are you talking about?" shouted Akira.

With a mad look in his eyes, he looked at Akira. "My parents knew of what truly happened with Zero Reverse! They were witnesses! They saw what had occurred, and knew about Goodwin as well. So Goodwin, with his usual abuse of power, had them killed! Then came Arcadia! Believing I had the ability to make the damage from duel monster cards a reality, Divine subjected to some of the most sick and twisted tortures one can't even begin to imagine just to awaken my power!"

He panted heavily. He was desperately trying to control himself, not wanting his anger to get the best of him. Not yet. "When he determined I was of no use to him, he just left me to die out in the middle of the desert. Then came Yliaster. They heard of a prophecy of someone who would one day gain the ability to exterminate them. They believed that person was me!" He began cackling madly, causing Akira to take a step back, slightly afraid.

"They fucking _erased_ me from this world! I didn't exist! Neither did my family, or anyone else I ever knew. I was eventually driven to madness. The product of their own abuse of power. But you know, they were right about one thing. I eventually obtained the power of the Wicked Gods. The power to exterminate them and cleanse this world! Their own sins, their own _wickedness_ brought me to life. They created me, and when I win this war, they'll see their own creation wipe out the very thing they sought to control!"

Akira wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. Part of him felt that Kichigai was right. That his actions and motives were justified. But another part of him wouldn't allow himself to lose. He _had _to keep fighting, for his friends, and for the citizens of Neo Domino. "Though your actions are justified, I'm afraid I can't let you do that. My friends need me. I can't let them down. I'll fight this war until I'm defeated. So long as I still breathe, I will continue to oppose you!"

"This is your funeral..." Kichigai replied.

"When Dreadroot is on the field, the attack and defense of all other monsters on the field are halved!" Criosphinx groaned as its attack points fell to 600, and its defense points fell to 1200.

"Dreadroot, attack Criosphinx!" With a simple glare, Criosphinx shattered to pieces. Indeed, Dreadroot was powerful.

"I end my turn."

(3100-4000)

Akira drew, hoping for something that could help him. Staunch Defender. _'Strike one..._ _This can't help me now, so my only hope is to stall.'_

"I set a monster on the field and end my turn."

(3100-4000)

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. It allows me to add five monsters from my graveyard to my deck and then draw two cards."

Kichigai stared at his hand for a moment, an evil plan being formed inside his head. _'Hm... I can use Nightmare's Steelcage to hold off any attacks that he might make, though it also means that I can't attack. However, having only one monster on the field will leave me at a disadvantage, since I can only eliminate one of his monsters every turn. As long as he has a monster he can summon, this duel could drag on. I just need a couple of turns to get everything I need. After that, I can finish this. Especially since the move he used to defeat Kaiser won't work as long as Dreadroot is on the field.'_ he thought.

"I activate the spell card, Nightmare Steelcage. For two of your turns, neither one of us can attack. I'll set a monster and end my turn."

A large metal cage surrounded them, trapping them inside for Akira's next two turns.

(3100-4000)

Akira looked at the Giant Rat he drew. _'Good! Not only can I build up my defenses with this, but I can also stall for a bit until I get the cards I need.'_

"I'll set a card on the field, and then set a monster. I end my turn with that."

(3100-4000)

An evil smile appeared on Kichigai's face when he began his turn.

"I use Gilasaurus' special effect to special summon him to the field, at the cost of you being able to special summon a monster from your graveyard." A second Gilasaurus appeared on the field, its mouth open wide, revealing its razor-sharp teeth. (1400/400)-(700/200)

Giant Rat appeared on Akira's field in defense mode, its stats cut in half. (1400/1450)-(700/725)

"Next I activate the quickplay spell, Inferno Reckless Summon. This allows me to special summon two more Gilasaurus from my deck. Of course, it also allows you to choose a monster on your field and special summon as many copies as you can."

Two more Gilasaurus appeared on Kichigai's field, while Akira's third Giant Rat appeared on his.

"I sacrifice my three Gilasaurus to summon, The Wicked Avatar!"

An black orb, the size of Kichigai, appeared before them. It floated eerily for a moment before turning into a pitch-black version of Dreadroot. (?/?)-(4100/4100)

"The Wicked Avatar is the third, and also the most powerful, of all the Wicked Gods! Its attack points are 100 points more than that of the strongest monster on the field. Best part is, since I summoned it after Dreadroot, Dreadroot's stat reducing effect can't touch him!"

Akira silently examined the third of the Wicked Gods, still not able to fully believe that the Wicked Gods can have this much power.

"I end my turn."

(3100-4000)

Akira looked at his next card. No Entry!. This was good. He'd be able to stall until he got everything he needed.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn."

With this, Nightmare's Steelcage rusted away, allowing them to fight once more.

(3100-4000)

"Dreadroot, Avatar, let's take care of our little rat problem." Kichigai smirked evilly, pointing at two of the Giant Rat on Akira's field.

Not wanting to let this chance go to waste, Akira summoned two Des Lacooda to his field. (500/600)-(250/300)

Kichigai let out a huff, angry with himself for having forgotten about Giant Rat's effect.

"I end my turn."

(3100-4000)

Akira began his turn and quickly made his move.

"I switch both my Des Lacooda to face-down defense position by using their effect. I end my turn with that."

(3100-4000)

"Seems like you are not only stalling, but you also don't have the cards you want. You really need to give up. Avatar! Dreadroot! Destroy both of his Des Lacooda!"

Mimicking Dreadroot, Avatar threw a punch and crushed the decaying camel.

"My turn is done."

(3100-4000)

Akira drew a card, knowing full well that he had to turn the tables soon. Very soon.

"I set a monster on the field, and end my turn."

(3100-4000)

"I set a monster on the field, and activate the spell card, Monster Reincarnation. By discarding a card from my hand, I can add a monster from my graveyard to my hand."

A chill went down Akira's spine. He felt like something horrible was about to happen. Though he didn't want to believe it, he was sure that the monster that Kichigai took from his graveyard was The Wicked Eraser. This meant that Kichigai was about to summon all three at once!

"Attack the two hidden monsters on the far left!" shouted Kichigai, pointing at the two cards at Akira's left.

Avatar and Dreadroot moved exactly the same, crushing both monsters with their fists.

"I activate the trap card, Rock Bombardment!" shouted out Akira. "This card allows me to choose a Rock-Type monster from my deck and send it to my graveyard, and then deal 500 points of damage to you!" The trap card fired a boulder at Kichigai who, despite the pain he knew he would feel, crushed the boulder with his fist.

"I end my turn." he stated, a strange, evil aura surrounding his words.

(3100-3500)

Akira smiled. His plan had officially worked. "You should have forgotten about trying to summon more Wicked Gods and focused on defeating me."

"Why is that?" Kichigai wondered.

His question was answered quickly enough, as they were covered by tall walls of light. Kichigai's eyes widened in shock as he saw these. _'Damn it! He's got them already! This is how he beat Kaiser!'_ he shouted inside his head.

"I activate the trap card, Pyramid of Light."

Kichigai took a few calming breaths. He was safe. As long as Dreadroot was on the field, Akira couldn't touch his Life Points.

"Next, I pay 500 Life Points each to summon both Andro Sphinx, and Sphinx Teleia!"

The first monster, a humanoid lion, standing up on two feet, with a muscular body that was protected by grey/brown gladiator armor, appeared on the field. (3000/2500)-(1500/1250)

The second monster was a four-legged beast with white fur and two large wings. She had a chain around her neck, and the head of a woman, but the dark look in her eyes and the sharp teeth in her mouth suggested she was more of a demon than anything else. (2500/3000)-(1250/1500)

"Fortunately for you, they can't attack on the turn they are summoned. However, I can still flip Guardian Statue face-up, using its effect to send a monster back to your hand and then flipping it back down."

The Wicked Dreadroot let out a groan as it faded away, causing Andro Spinx and Sphinx Teleia's stats to go back to normal.

"To continue, I special summon Megarock Dragon from my hand by removing from play all the Rock-Type monsters in my graveyard." He took out eight cards from his graveyard and pocketed them, causing a large dragon made out of stone to appeared on the field, massive spikes covering the surface of its body. (?/?)-(5600/5600)

"Its attack points and defense points are equal to the amount of monsters I removed times 700 points. I set a card and activate the trap card, No Entry!. This card switches all monsters to defense position. I end my turn."

(2100-3500)

Kichigai clapped. He was indeed impressed with Akira's move.

"I sacrifice the Double Coston and Hero Kid I had set on my field to summon The Wicked Eraser!" The Wicked Eraser appeared on the field, looking as bloodthirsty as always. (?/?)-(10000/10000)

"Kaiser's will cannot be stopped! I will continue to fight for him until I'm defeated!" he stated.

In turn, Avatar's effect caused its attack and defense points to be 100 points higher than that of Eraser.

"You did good, but it won't save you from defeat! I've already seen you summon these monsters to defeat Kaiser, so I know that their effects won't save you! I equip Avatar with Big Bang Shot, increasing its attack points by 400 points, and giving it piercing damage. Destroy him!" shouted Kichigai, a look of madness on his face.

"I activate the trap card, Staunch Defender! Thanks to this, all your monsters can only attack Megarock Dragon!"

"That won't save you!" Kichigai exclaimed.

"It will when I activate this: the quickplay spell, Unity! This increases Megarock Dragon's defense points by the combined defense of all my defense position monsters!"

Megarock Dragon's defense points rose to an unbelievable 11000 points, far more than that of either of Kichigai's monsters.

Due to the effect of Staunch Defender, Avatar had no choice but to attack. Its attack points weren't high enough to defeat it, causing Megarock Dragon to use the effect of Continuous Destruction Punch, crushing the Wicked God with its massive tail.

Kichigai stood frozen as he watched his monsters fall to their own deaths. Eraser attempted to stab the stony creature with its spiky tail, but the dragon retaliated, swiping at him with its tail. Wicked Eraser, upon its destruction, released a shockwave that destroyed all the cards on the field.

This was it. It was all over. Kichigai knew what would come next. This was the way Kaiser's duel against Akira had ended.

"When both Andro Sphinx and Sphinx Teleia are destroyed at the same time, I can pay 500 Life Points to summon Theinen the Great Sphinx!" There was a thunderous sound, and a beast rivaling the size of Dreadroot appeared on the field. It had Teleias' body, but the upper body of Andro Sphinx, as well as a head that had both Teleia's and Andro's face. (3500/3000)

(1600-2000)

Akira began his turn, a feeling of Deja Vu came to him. It seemed as though this was a repeat of his duel with Kaiser. He could remember how he summoned Theinen, allowing him to obtain his victory over the leader of the Titans. And now he was about to do that once more, also against one of his enemies.

"Attack!" The beast fired a dark, pulsing beam from its mouth, hitting Kichigai directly. Kichigai screamed in pain, hitting the ground after the attack subsided and the beast disappeared.

Kichigai struggled to lift his head, looking at Akira. "Seems that today, your will and dreams bested mine. Be glad of your victory." he told him. With his last breath, he spoke out into the air. "I'm sorry, Kaiser. I wasn't able to make your dreams a reality..."

Akira had a sad look on his face as he watched Kichigai fade away into nothingness. Yes, Kichigai had done some terrible things. However, he was still a victim. A victim of all that is wrong with both war and Neo Domino.

**End of Chapter 28.

* * *

**

_Takahiro is the next Titan to battle. Despite his incredibly lazy nature, he can actually be productive when he needs to be. This time, however, he needs to obtain a victory so that Hikazu can keep his position as leader of the group. There are no second chances, so he's determined to take down Casey once and for all. Be on the lookout for: The Revived King!

* * *

_

A/N: The members of the Titans, except for Hikazu, have names that have a meaning in the story. With some, it has to do with thier role in the story. With others, it has to do with their decks, and with some, like Kichigai, it has to do with their personality.

This last case is true for Kichigai. His name is the japanese word for 'mad', which can mean 'crazy'. When he tells Akira that he _'will soon see how mad'_ he can really get, it is a reference to his name.

Also, I'm still accepting OC's, though not for much longer. The time limit is undetermined, though it will be over when the next chapter is put up. Until then, I hoped you are enjoying the story. Have fun reading, and don't forget to review.


	29. Chapter 29: The Revived King!

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Viva La Vida by Coldplay

* * *

_

**Chapter 29: The Revived King!**

It was now starting to become a custom for the Titans to have meetings every few hours or so. They were all there. Hikazu, Atlas, Takahiro, Shione, and Payne.

"Well, I can't exactly say that I'm sad to lose Kichigai, since the damn bastard kept disrespecting him at every turn, but it does worry me that he was defeated." stated Hikazu.

"I agree. Not only did he have the Wicked Gods, but he had summoned them consistently throughout his duel, keeping the pressure on Akira. I tell you, had he been able to summon all three, he might have won." said Atlas.

Hikazu nodded. "That doesn't change the fact that the Wicked Gods are powerful on their own, and on his last turn, Kichigai had managed to have two monsters with over ten-thousand attack points on his field." He slammed his fist on the table. "I'm almost starting to regret Kaiser having failed to kill Akira. The Egyptian Gods gave him too much power. I wouldn't be surprised if he took us down all by himself!"

Shione smirked. "Losing confidence?"

Hikazu shot her a glare. "No. I'm just worried that we've underestimated our opponents. From now on, we really can't hold back. Takahiro!" he shouted, causing Takahiro to quickly raise his head off the table.

"What? I'm up! I'm up!" he exclaimed, looking rapidly around the room to figure out what was going on.

"Don't you sleep enough? I could have sworn you slept for more than ten hours last night, and I don't recall you doing anything since then." asked Atlas.

Takahiro merely mumbled something incoherent as a reply.

"Takahiro, we need to take down the Olympians. The only way to do that is to apply more pressure. Meaning, I need you to fight them. Casey should be your next target. Fight her and defeat her." Hikazu ordered.

"Why do I have to be the one to do this?" he whined. "Send Shione to do it instead."

"Because I told you so!" Hikazu told him. "And you'd better not fail! We need to get a victory, and fast! Before those bastards decide to replace me..."

With a sigh, Takahiro nodded and left the room, singing to himself as he mentally prepared himself for his task. "_Another mission the powers have called me away. Another time to carry the colors again. My motivation an oath I've sworn to defend. To win the honor of coming back home again..._"

"Looks like he forgot his manga." Shione pointed out, which seemed to be a sort of bad omen, as Takahiro never let go of it.

"Shione, you need to get ready as well!" he informed her. "As soon as Takahiro is done with his battle, I want you to go in and attack one of the Olympians. If we allow them another victory, it'll be the death of me!"

She nodded, reluctantly agreeing to follow his orders. "Yeah, I get it. I'll be sure to use the power of my deck to defeat them. They won't make it past me!" she assured him, leaving the room.

Payne, knowing there was nothing more to discuss, left the room as well. His presence was nothing more than a formality, as he never actually helped. He just needed to stay informed so that he could inform the Titans, as well as deliver any messages between the Titans and their vessels.

Atlas gave Hikazu a smirk and left without saying a word, leaving Hikazu to try to figure out what this meant.

* * *

Shione stood at the roof, as she normally did with Kichigai and Kaiser. They were both gone now, and she was the last one left. There was a rose tied to the railing. She smiled as she looked at it. She had placed it there last night, when she got the idea to put a rose in honor of her fallen comrade and leader, Kaiser.

Now she was tying another rose next to it. "You tried your best, Kichigai. Maybe you couldn't make this world a better place, but someone else can." she said to her fallen friend. It was a sort of graveyard for her, where she would honor her fallen friends.

But she wasn't done. Holding a third flower, she tied it around the railing next to the other two. There was a sad look on her face as she did this. "I'll probably be killed at one point or another..." she said a sigh. "Might as well come to terms with it."

She took a deep breath and stood there, staring out at the horizon, honoring her fallen comrades. No. Honoring her friends. Her real friends. It took her this long to know who were her real friends, but she was glad to know that she finally found them.

"I won't let you guys down!" she assured herself.

* * *

Trent was currently in the garage with Casey and two of his teammates. He went over to a nearby object covered in a white cloak. Pulling off the cloak, he turned to the others. "Ta-da!" he exclaimed, revealing a Duel Runner that Casey hadn't seen before. It was of similar design as the standard Duel Runners that Sector Security used, with a few differences. The front was longer, arcing over the front wheel. Its sides were flat, and the back was made longer and fashioned to look like a dragon's tail. It was a red color, with a row of white blocks on each side running from front to back.

"Casey, meet Excelion! Your Duel Runner has been finished!" he stated happily.

Casey ran over and examined it, intrigued, barely able to contain her joy. Not being able to hold it in any longer, she smiled and hugged Trent tightly. "Thank you! This is great!"

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, he laughed sheepishly, and then released himself from her grip. He coughed, and continued with the presentation. "Well, we've made many upgrades to it, of which you'll find out soon enough." he told her. "However, the main point of this is for you to test it."

Casey looked at him, confused. "I thought you already tested it with Zeke."

Trent nodded. "That's true. However, that was just a basic test. Now that Blake's Duel Runner has been stolen, this test might include pursuing an enemy that uses a Duel Runner as advanced as yours, so it would be a far more advanced test."

"Blake's Duel Runner has been stolen?" she asked, not having heard the news before.

"Yes. It seems that, somehow, someone managed to sneak in through our perimeter and steal it. Anyways, since Zeke is still recovering, and Akira's still passed out from yesterday, I want you to help us find the thief." he explained.

"Akira's still passed out? I thought his injuries were minor."

"They are." said Trent. "However, that duel seemed to be more focused on spiritual damage rather than physical damage. It really sapped him of his strength. So, until he wakes up, it'll be up to you to help us. Now, since I fear that the Titans will be going after you next, I feel against letting you leave this place. However, since Kazuya offered to be your bodyguard during the patrol, then I'll accept it."

Casey looked to the man standing beside her. He was slightly taller than her, with the black shirt and pants that members of Trent's team are used to wearing. His hair was a dark brown color, and it was tied in a ponytail on the back, though part of his hair covered his left eye from time to time. He seemed to be strong, but wasn't overly muscular.

"Once you guys are ready, you may leave. I'll be monitoring the situation over here."

Casey and Kazuya nodded. Casey quickly mounted her Duel Runner, trying to understand all of its functions before she actually drove it. While they did this, Trent examined a card in his hand. It was The Revived King Ha Des. _'This is the second card we've found on them after their duels. What could this mean?'

* * *

_

The orange-haired boy panted heavily. He was lying on a bed, a wet towel on his forehead. There were currently two people in the room.

One of them was Atlas, who was standing guard by the door.

The other one, who was sitting next to the orange-haired boy as she put a fresh towel over his head, was a young woman. She had knee-length blonde hair, and wore a long black jacket, a golden stripe running down each sleeve. She also wore a white shirt beneath her jacket, a black miniskirt, and a pair of military-style boots.

"Jihl, how is he?" he asked her.

She sighed. "He's somewhat stable. However, I don't know how much longer I can keep him in this state." she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Atlas stared at the boy for a moment. "We need to make sure his body remains healthy until the Titans decide to replace Hikazu."

Jihl nodded, agreeing with him. She had been sent here a few days before Kaiser's defeat, but had not been an official part of the group yet. The Titans wanted to see if the group stationed here in Neo Domino was strong enough to take down the Olympians themselves. Due to this, she had not been revealed to the rest of the group, since she was quickly told to take care of Matsu as much as she could.

She didn't mind this, though. In fact, she found it nice to be with him. She had wanted to meet him for a very long time, ever since she met him years ago in Satellite. Truthfully, she was young at the time, and it had been a few years before Matsu had been locked up. Ever since Matsu had rescued him from a duel gang when she was smaller, she had wanted to see him again. Now, she had gotten a chance.

If it meant she would have to take care of him until he woke up, so be it. As long as she could be with him.

"Don't worry. As long as we keep his temperature down, he should be alright." she informed Atlas.

"I sure hope so. After all, Hikazu is being kind of irrational right now. Chances are that the Titans won't be finished with their decision before he takes us all down. Hikazu is such an idiot! He's cutting down our numbers in almost no time at all! The Titans should have fucking sent him elsewhere! He's a hazard to us." he ranted. He was seriously getting fed up with letting Hikazu continue with his flawed tactics. At the rate things were going, Atlas was afraid that he himself would have to intervene.

On the inside, Jilh laughed. Hikazu being irrational was nothing new. If anything, it would be surprising for him to actually be rational, if even for a moment.

* * *

Takahiro walked through the streets happily, still singing. _"No explanation will matter after we begin. Unlock the dark destroyer that's buried within. My true vocation and now my unfortunate friend. You will discover a war you're unable to win.."_

Eventually, he stumbled across a familiar place. It was the place where he dueled his rival. He remembered how he had forced his opponent to duel him, and with a makeshift deck he himself had created. He wanted to defeat his opponent, but it all blew up in his face. He had lost the duel, and was shamed even more.

He heard a rumbling, and looked to his right to find a pair of Duel Runners riding among the streets. He smirked and stepped in their way, causing the two duelists to halt, coming close to running him over.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You shouldn't be out in the streets during this time. Its dangerous!" exclaimed Kazuya.

"I could say the same about you two." he replied, looking at Casey.

"We are here to find a stolen Duel Runner. Its important that we find it. Have you seen anyone else around here riding a Duel Runner?" she questioned him.

"No, I haven't." he replied.

"Are you sure?" asked Kazuga, suspicious of the man. "You're wearing a hood over your face, so you don't exactly strike me as the honest kind."

Takahiro turned his head towards him, smirking. Casey and Kazuga felt the ground beneath them shake, and then a pair of bony arms shot out from the ground, grabbing Kazuga by the ankles and pulling him in. Casey grabbed his arm and began to pull him back, but the creatures that were pulling him to his death were too strong. They overpowered her, pulling Kazuga inside the ground. In desperation, Casey tried to get him before he was fully covered by the dirt, but the ground had closed up, as if nothing had ever happened.

"What did you do to him!" she shouted out in fear.

"He was getting on my nerves, asking so many questions, so I decided to get rid of him." he replied.

"What _are_ you?" she asked. It was obvious that the person standing before her wasn't normal. What if the man before her was a Titan? That meant that she would have to fight. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew that she could fight, but if she got to hurt, or worse, if she lost, she wouldn't be able to help her friends. They, who were too weak to fight right now, would be forced to go through even more pain, and might not be able to win a duel.

Takahiro laughed. "I am Takahiro, one of the Titans' vessels. I am here to fight an Olympian named Casey, and after having seen Hikazu's last duel, I know for certain that the person I am looking for is you."

She gulped. So she was right. The man _was_ a Titan. "Let me guess, you've come to duel me."

Takahiro nodded. "That is correct. So, shall we? I would like to take down your whole team as soon as possible."

Casey raised up her duel disk, a determined look on her face. "Not gonna happen."

Takahiro chuckled. "Very well. In that case-" The sound of an engine running interrupted him. He and Casey looked back to see a Duel Runner heading their way.

It was similar in design to Hunter Pace's chopper-style Duel Runner, however, it was much slimmer. The whole Duel Runner, stretching from the front wheel to the back wheel, was adorned with an extremely high-tech design. It had a color scheme of red, blue, and yellow colors. Riding it was a man whose face was hidden by the helmet, but the angelic wings protruding from its back was a good indication that it wasn't human.

It zoomed past Takahiro, who had to dodge out of the way and landed on the ground. Before she could get out of the way, Casey saw that the man was going towards her. In seconds, he grabbed her and got as far away from there as possible. As she struggled to get free, she could have sworn she had seen a jet passing by and someone jumping out of it.

Takahiro got up and dusted himself off, looking around. He couldn't believe he let the girl get away. Just then, a man landed before him. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans, some black sneakers, and a black sleeveless shirt. The man also had jet-blue hair and a tattoo of a snake coiling around his left arm.

Takahiro smiled. This was too perfect. "Oh!" he said with surprise. "I had forgotten that _you_ were an Olympian."

Blake's eyes narrowed, suspicious of the man standing before him. "By my guess, I'd say you are a Titan. What are you doing here?"

"I came here to duel the girl known as Casey. However, now that you're here, Blake, maybe _we_ could duel instead."

Blake was about to state that he was there to protect Casey and the rest of his friends, but he pushed the thought aside when he heard the man speak his name. "How do you know my name?" he asked. He already thought that maybe Kaiser or Hikazu had told them who he was, but he still wanted to know.

Takahiro chuckled. "Oh, Blake. Have you forgotten me already?" he asked him back, pulling back his hood and revealing his face. "Its me, Takahiro!"

Blake took a step back in surprise when he saw who it was. The man wore a white shirt beneath a grey sweater, a pair of blue jeans, and some white sneakers. His hair, no longer covered by the hood, was spiky and short, a golden yellow color with streaks of black. He recognized this man.

"Twist? I should have_ known_ you'd be with the Titans!" Blake exclaimed, anger in his voice.

"So what do you say, Blake? Duel me, or I go after your little friend!"

Blake activated his duel disk. "Like hell you will! No way are any of you bastards getting even a step closer to my friends!" His eyes glowed a light-blue color, and the circuit lines appeared around his pupils.

Takahiro activated his duel disk, more than happy for another chance to finally defeat Blake.

(4000-4000)

"I'll have the pleasure of starting off this duel!" Takahiro stated, drawing his sixth card.

"I'll set three cards on the field, and summon Mezuki in attack mode!" An undead beast-warrior, similar to Battle Ox in many ways, appeared on the field. This creature, however, did not wear armor, and wielded a large axe in its hands. (1700/800)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Blake drew his sixth card and checked his hand. He held Roll Out!, Y-Dragon Head, Shining Angel, Cannon Wheel, Return from Different Dimension, and Dangerous Machine Type-6.

"I set one card, and summon Y-Dragon Head in defense mode!" The red mechanical dragon appeared on the field, shielding itself with its wings. (1500/1600)

"I activate the continuous spell, Dangerous Machine Type-6. During each of my standby phases, I get to roll a six-sided die, and depending on the number that it lands on, this card gains a different effect. I end my turn."

A trap card on Takahiro's field revealed itself. "I activate the continuous trap, The First Sarcophagus! Thanks to this, during each of your end phases, I can activate a 'Sarcophagus' spell from my deck. Once I have all three, I can send them all to the graveyard to special summon a powerful monster from my deck." he stated.

(4000-4000)

Takahiro smiled as he drew his next card.

"I activate the spell card, Terraforming. This allows me to take a field spell from my deck and add it to my hand." A card slid out of his deck, and he added it to his hand.

"I activate the field spell, Zombie World! Thanks to this, all monsters on the field and in the graveyards are treated as zombies, and neither of us can tribute summon monsters unless they are zombies as well."

The entire field became a swampland. There were many gravestones, though the bodies that were supposed to be buried beneath them were lying all over the surface, rotting away, stinking up the whole place. The whole place was covered in a thick fog, but the area where Takahiro and Blake were battling had a thinner fog, allowing them to see the field. Sounds could be heard, such as screams and groans, but they sounded too far away to be of any threat.

"Next, I summon Zombie Master in attack mode!" A young necromancer appeared on the field. He wore old, decrepit clothes, and had long grey hair. His hands glowed with a purple aura. (1800/0)

"Attack his Y-Dragon Head!" Mezuki charged at the machine, slicing it cleanly in half with its axe.

"Zombie Master, attack him directly." The necromancer raised up his hands, shooting a beam of purple energy at Blake. It hit him hard in the chest, knocking him on his back. For a moment, he felt he couldn't breathe, like the air was pushed out of his lungs. There was immense pain in his chest, yet he managed to pull himself up.

"What... was that?" he asked between breaths.

"This is a shadow duel. Therefore, we will both be taking real damage. Our Life Points are literally our lifelines. When a person's Life Points drop to zero, they shall die." he explained.

"Anyway, I end my turn."

(2200-4000)

Blake drew his next card, Future Fusion.

"I activate the effect of Dangerous Machine Type-6!" A holographic die appeared on the field and spun around. Moments later, it stopped, landing on a three.

"Perfect! Since it landed on a three, I get to draw again." He drew once again, this time drawing Swords of Revealing Light.

"I activate the continuous spell, Future Fusion. By sending fusion-materials monsters from my deck to the graveyard, I can fusion summon the fusion monster that requires those monsters for its fusion summon on my second standby phase after having activated this card." He took two cards from his deck, and discarded them.

"Next, I activate the spell card, Swords of Revealing Light. For your next three turns, your monsters can't attack." A barrier created by swords of light that were impaled into the ground surrounded Takahiro. The illumination from the swords granting better visibility.

"Now, I summon Shining Angel in defense mode, and end my turn." Shining Angel appeared on the field, shielding himself with his wings. (1400/800)

"And since you ended your turn, The First Sarcophagus' effect activates, allowing me to activate the continuous spell, The Second Sarcophagus from my deck!" A continous spell, depicting an image of a sarcophagus, appeared on the field.

(2200-4000)

"I activate the effect of Zombie Master. By sending a monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can special summon a Zombie-Type monster from either player's graveyard. And since Zombie World makes your monsters Zombies as well..." Takahiro discarded a card from his hand, causing a rusted-out Cannon Soldier to appear on his field. (1400/1300)

"Since I can't attack, I can at least sacrifice Mezuki, allowing me to inflict 500 points of damage to your Life Points!" Mezuki became an orb of light, merging with Cannon Soldier. Cannon Soldier pointed its lasers at Blake, shooting him.

Blake fell on his back once again, still unable to breathe normally. The pain was worse this time, as the shot was aimed at the same spot where he had been hit last. Despite this, he forced himself to get up. "Is...Is that... all you've got?" he barely managed to say.

Takahiro laughed. "What's the matter? Finally realized that you are out of your league? Good. Maybe after I beat you, people will once again fear the name: 'Takahiro, the Zombie King!'"

"Zombie King? I can't believe you are still hung up on that. Is that why you joined the Titans? To get revenge on me?" Blake asked.

"Of course it is! Ever since that day you defeated in the underground leagues, my life has been horrible! I wasn't able to get an sponsors! No one believed I could obtain another win! Eventually, I wasn't able to continue living the way I used to. I lost everything, little by little, until I was left with no place to go, and nothing to keep except for my deck and my duel disk. Even worse, since I didn't have the protection of all those sponsors, Security eventually came after me, trying to make me pay for all my crimes! Each time I escaped them by the skin of my teeth, but it was getting to be too much. Once the Titans told me of all the things I could have, fame, money, and status, I agreed to help them. For once, I could get my life back on the right track!" he explained.

Blake put his hand to his head. "You talk too much..." he stated weakly. "Your motivations are misplaced. All you want is power. You were nothing but a tyrant with your status, punishing anyone whom you viewed as a threat."

Takahiro growled in response, ending his turn.

(1700-4000)

Blake started his turn, feeling slightly weak.

"During my standby phase, Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates." Once again, the holographic die spun around, and slowly landed on a five. "When it lands on a five, one of your monsters is destroyed. I'm taking down your Zombie Master!" A surprised look appeared the decayed necromancer before he shattered into pieces.

"I summon X-Head Cannon in attack mode!" X-Head Cannon appeared on the field, quickly rusting itself to near-oblivion. (1800/1500)

"Next, I activate the trap card, Roll Out! This allows me to special summon a union monster from my graveyard." Y-Dragon Head appeared on the field once more, looking as rusted-out as X-Head Cannon. (1500/1600)

"Now, Shining Angel, attack Cannon Soldier!" Shining Angel flew at the machine, punching a hole through it before the explosion wiped him out.

"Since Shining Angel was sent to the graveyard through battle, I can special summon a Light attribute monster from my deck with 1500 or less attack points." Z-Metal Tank appeared on the field, also rusting out within moments of its arrival. (1500/1300)

"I remove from play X-Head Cannon and Y-Dragon Head to summon XY-Dragon Cannon!" The two machines merged, creating a more powerful machine. It was X-Head Cannon acting as the machine's upper body, while Y-Dragon Head acted as its lower body. (2200/1900)

"Z-Metal Tank, attack him directly!"

"I activate Mezuki's effect! By removing him from play while he's in my graveyard, I can special summon a Zombie-Type monster from my graveyard!" Zombie Master appeared on the field once again, an evil smirk on his face.

"XY-Dragon Cannon, destroy Zombie Master!" The machine fired its lasers. The beams went through Zombie Master, eradicating him completely, and hit Takahiro. He was pushed back about three feet, but he stood there as if the attack never happened.

"Z-Metal Tank, attack him directly!" The small yellow tank fired its weapons, almost blasting Takahiro into nothingness. When the smoke cleared, Takahiro had covered his face with his arms, and he had some small cuts and burns. His sweater was burnt off, and part of his shirt was singed. Despite this, he refused to show weakness.

"I activate the effect of XY-Dragon Cannon. By discarding one card from my hand, I can destroy one spell or trap on your field." He discarded his Cannon Wheel, causing XY-Dragon Cannon to fire its cannons at The First Sarcophagus trap card.

"I don't think so! I activate the trap card, Fake Trap. When you activate a card effect that will destroy one or more of my trap cards, I can activate this card so that it takes the hit for all my other traps." The trap card moved in front of the beams, exploding violently. When the smoke cleared, The First Sarcophagus was still on the field.

"I set a card and end my turn." Blake said reluctantly. Just then, another continuous spell appeared on the field.

"Due to the effect of The First Sarcophagus, I can activate The Third Sarcophagus from my deck."

(1700-2100)

"With all three 'Sarcophagus' cards on the field, I can send them all to summon, Spirit of the Pharaoh!"

The three sarcophagi merged into one, which opened up and allowed a blue-skinned Egyptian pharaoh, whose face was hidden by a golden crown, to step out of it. He had armlets made of gold, and royal armor made of gold as well. A blood-red cape finished the outfit. (2500/2000)

"When he's summoned this way, I can special summon as many level two or lower Zombie-Type monsters from my graveyard."

"But you don't have any!" Blake shouted out. Then he remembered that Takahiro had discarded a monster from his hand to use Zombie Master's effect. _'Was that a level two or lower monster?'_ he asked himself in his head.

When a rotund, rotten, demonic-looking clown rose up from out of the ground, his question was answered. (1350/0)

"Next, I summon Plaguespreader Zombie!" A large, round creature appeared on the field. It seemed to be made up of the rotting corpses of different humans, though it also had some from animals, like its thick tail. (400/200)

"That's a tuner!" Blake shouted out. But something didn't make sense here. All of the known Zombie-Type synchro monsters were level six. Takahiro didn't have the cards necessary for a synchro summon.

"I tune Plaguespreader Zombie with Spirit of the Pharaoh and Clown Zombie!" The tuner monster turned into two green rings that floated around Spirit of the Pharaoh and Clown Zombie, who dissolved into eight glowing stars.

_"The fallen king rises once more! Escaped from the depths of Hell, he returns to rule this land as its rightful king! Synchro Summon! Titanic Deity-Cronus*!"_

The monster that appeared with a weak and frail-looking one. It was a man, with barely any meat on his bones, covered in a black cloak. He looked old, and had no hair on his head. His his hands, he held a scythe. (1700/2000)

"A level ten synchro with 1700 attack points? What's the catch?" Blake asked, knowing that something about this definitely wasn't right.

"Once per turn, Cronus can take control of one of your monsters, and treat it as an equip card. Once equipped, Cronus gains attacked points equal to the monster that he's been equipped with." Takahiro pointed at XY-Dragon Cannon, and the machine was pulled in to his field by Cronus. Cronus jumped on top of it, fully in control of the machine. His attack points rose to 3900.

"Now, I activate the continuous spell, Pyramid of Wonders. Now my zombies get an extra 200 attack points for each monster on your field." Cronus groaned as his attack points rose to 4100.

"I end my turn."

(1700-2100)

Blake started his turn, his eyes glowing with even more intensity.

"The effect of Future Fusion activates, summoning Labyrinth Tank to my field." The large, heavy tank appeared on the field, its drills spinning slowly as the effects of the field spell affected the machine. (2400/2400)

"Next, Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates." A die appeared and spun in place, eventually landing on a five. "Just like last time, one of your monsters is destroyed. And since you only control one..." He pointed at Cronus, but to his surprise, XY-Dragon Cannon exploded instead.

"If he's going to be destroyed, Cronus can just sacrifice the monster equipped to it in order to prevent himself from being destroyed." Takahiro explained to him, an evil grin on his face.

Cronus' attack points decreased to 2100.

"Labyrinth Tank, attack Cronus!" The machine charged into him, but to Blake's disbelief, Cronus merely stopped the machine with his hands and pushed it back.

"But how?" Blake said in a surprised tone.

"When one of my Zombie-Type monsters is about to be destroyed, I can sacrifice Pyramid of Wonders to save it from destruction." The continuous spell shattered, and Cronus' attack points decreased to its original 1700.

Blake made a low growling noise, annoyed by the fact that Takahiro had managed to stop his every move. "I set a card and end my turn."

(1700-1400)

"I set one card, and activate Cronus' effect. Your Labyrinth Tank is now mine!" Labyrinth Tank moved to Takahiro's field, causing Cronus' attack points to rise to 4100 as he jumped on top of Labyrinth Tank.

"Fortunately for you, your spell card still prevents me from battling until the end of this turn, so I have nothing more to do but end it." Takahiro ended his turn, causing the Swords of Revealing Light to shatter and fade away.

(1700-1400)

Blake's eyes glowed even more intensely. His powers were doing their best to help him win this duel, but his lack of experience in using them wasn't allowing them to work as well as they should.

He drew Battle Fusion.

"Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates." A die appeared and spun around, slowly landing on a three. "This means that I get to draw another card." He took a deep breath, and drew again.

"I activate the trap card, Return from Different Dimension! This allows me to special summon as many of my removed from play monsters as I can until the end of my turn." As Y-Dragon Head and X-Head Cannon appeared on the field, Takahiro twicthed slightly. He remembered that the last time he had seen Blake used that card, it ended in his defeat.

"Next, I remove all three of them from play to special summon, XYZ-Dragon Cannon!" The three machines merged once again, this time forming an even deadlier machine. (2800/2600)

"I set a card on the field and switch XYZ-Dragon Cannon to defense mode. I end my turn."

(1700-1400)

"I summon Shutendoji!" A red demon with sky golden hair appeared on the field. He wore wooden armor, and held a gourd-shaped jar in his hands. (1500/800)

"I activate his effect. I can remove from play two of the Zombie-Type monsters in my graveyard and then draw a card." He took a card from his deck, looked at it briefly, and added it to his hand.

"Cronus, attack his Dragon Cannon!" The tank that Cronus was manipulating opened its secret weapon compartments, firing a volley of missiles at the machine. When the smoke cleared, however, one of Blake's traps had been activated, and XYZ-Dragon Cannon was still on the field.

"Thanks to the effect of Threatening Roar, your attack was canceled and you cannot attack this turn." Blake explained, happy that he was able to last another turn.

"I set a card on the field, and end my turn."

(1700-1400)

Blake drew once again. This time, he could feel the power of the card that he would draw. It was Pot of Avarice.

"Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates." The die spun around, landing on a three once again. "Once again, I can draw an extra card." As he drew again, he breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't sure if the reason he was having so much luck with this card was because of his powers, or just pure coincidence. Either way, he wasn't about to question it.

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Avarice. By returning five monsters from my graveyard to my deck, I can draw two cards." His duel disk automatically shuffled his deck, and then two cards slid out. He took them and added them to his hand.

"I activate XYZ-Dragon Cannon's effect. By discarding a card from my hand, I can destroy one card on the field!" XYZ-Dragon Cannon fired a beam of yellow energy.

"Did you forget? Cronus can just sacrifice your monster to avoid destruction!" However, he was surprised to see the beams hit the ground, eradicating the field spell.

"I wasn't aiming for that. Now, XYZ-Dragon Cannon, attack Cronus!"

"Are you insane? That's suicide!" exclaimed Takahiro.

"Not if I activate the quickplay spell, Battle Fusion. When a fusion monster on my field attacks or is attacked, I can activate this card, raising his attack points by the same amount as the opposing monster's!"

In shock and horror, Takahiro watched as XYZ-Dragon Cannon's attack points rose to 6900.

"I activate the trap card, Assault Mode Activate!" His trap card revealed itself, causing Cronus to disappear from the field and the attack to be stopped.

There was complete silence, and the the ground began to shake. A bony arm popped out of the ground, and pulled the rest of its body out with it. It was a skeletal being, wrapped in a black cloak. It was about a foot taller than Cronus, and had a more imposing figure. It breathed death as the chains that were tying him to the ground rattled. Its scythe was larger now, sharper than before, and its handle was now made out of the remains of unknown creatures. A dark aura surrounded it, as well as the rest of the field. (2300/2100)

"This is Titanic Deity-Cronus/Assault Mode* Let me tell you how things work. He cannot be destroyed in battle. Also, he gains half the total attack points of all the monsters on my field other than him. When he battles, neither player takes damage. Once per turn, he can take control of one monster on your field, although it cannot attack. If he takes control of a monster, at the end of each of my turns, you'll take 100 points of damage times the total level of all your monsters that he has control over." Takahiro explained, an evil smile on his face.

"Damn it... XYZ-Dragon Cannon, attack Shutendoji!" The machine fired again, destroying the demon with ease.

"I set a monster on the field and end my turn."

(1700-1400)

"Oh, Blake. It must be sad for you to know that the very king you overthrew is the one who determines how you die!" Takahiro gloated.

"You just keep saying that, huh? Status isn't what's important here. Friends are important. Unless you have friends, there's no point in living. That's why I'm fighting! That's why I can't allow myself to die here!"

"Such beautiful words from a man that's about to die. Honorable to the very end, it seems." he replied. "I'll crush you like a bug, now."

He drew a card and began his turn.

"I activate Cronus' effect. I can take control of your XYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!" Blake's monster moved over to Takahiro's field, and the chains that held Cronus also wrapped themselves around XYZ-Dragon Cannon. Cronus' attack points then rose to 3700.

"Destroy his set monster!" The scythe stretched out all the way to Blake's set monster, and cut the machine in half.

"I end my turn, which activates Cronus' effect. You now take 100 points of damage times the level of your monster. So you take a total of 800 points of damage!"

"I activate the trap card, Fusion Guard. By randomly sending a fusion monster from my fusion deck to the graveyard, I can negate your monster's effect and destroy it!"

XYZ-Dragon Cannon exploded. "Did I forget to mention that his effect to avoid destruction by sacrificing one of your monsters is still active?" he said with an evil grin.

(1700-1400)

Blake started his turn, and it seemed like his powers were at their limit. He could feel himself getting weaker.

"Dangerous Machine Type-6 activates." The die spun around and landed on a six, causing the spell card to shatter into pieces. "When the die lands on a six, the spell card is destroyed."

He looked at his hand. _'So that's it, huh? I've finally reached my limit? In that case, I'd better make this turn count.'_

"I set a card, and summon Black Salvo to the field!" The small round machine, looking like an old-fashioned bomb, appeared on the field. (100/1100)

"His effect now activates, summoning a level four Dark attribute monster from my graveyard." Cannon Soldier appeared on the field.

"A tuner? Cannon Soldier? When did you send that monster to the graveyard, and what could you possibly be synchro summoning?"

Blake, in his exhaustion, seemed to ignored what his opponent was asking.

"I now tune them both together..." Black Salvo dissolved into three rings that surrounded Cannon Soldier, turning it into four glowing stars.

_"When things look bad, bring in the firepower! Synchro Summon! Back me up, Dark Strike Fighter!"_

There was a flash, and a large robot appeared on the field. It resembled an android version of a large bomber jet. His famed Dark Strike Fighter posed triumphantly, knowing it had been some time since he had been summoned. (2600/1800)

"Did you forget? We won't take damage from the battle! You synchro summoned for nothing!" Takahiro stated with an evil laugh.

Blake shook his head. "No. Not for nothing. Its to win!" he exclaimed, causing Takahiro to become serious.

"I activate his effect. By sacrificing a monster on my field, such as himself, I can deal you 200 points of damage times the level of the monster!" Takahiro's eyes widened as the jet flew high into the air, and then descended onto his monster with a crushing force. The monsters were gone, and the powerful impact knocked Takahiro back a few feet, though it also left a crater.

Takahiro, covered in blood and serious injuries, barely managed to get up. He raised up his hand and pointed at Blake. There was a mad look in his face as he struggled to speak. "You... Took everything! Somehow, you defeated me, despite my new powers. Maybe you _are_ the true king,,," He gasped as he turned to dust, soon to be blown away by the wind.

There, in the spot where Takahiro died, Blake noticed a card. It was Phantom Beast Cross-Wing. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. He drifted off into a deep thought for a moment, but soon pulled himself back to reality.

He heard a noise and turned around, seeing Casey and another person on his Duel Runner, heding his way. He smiled, and waved at them. "Hey Casey! I made it just in time, huh?" he shouted out, soon tackled to the ground by Casey, who had hugged him out of sheer joy and knocked him over.

"Blake! I can't believe you're back!" she said, but she didn't get a response. When she looked at him, she saw it was due to the fact that his pain had been made worse by her knocking him onto the ground. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, getting up and then helping him up as well.

Finally able to push the pain out of his mind, he chuckled. "Its alright." he replied. "You didn't think I would just leave you guys to face the Titans yourself, right?"

She looked at him, suspicious. "That _is_ what you did. Why'd you do that, anyway?"

"I had some things to deal with. If you don't mind, I'd gladly explain every to all of you guys after a nap. In exchange, I'd like to know what's happened here." Casey nodded, and helped him to his Duel Runner, where the angelic being still stood.

"Who are you?" she asked him. The being, in response, took off his helmet, revealing himself to be Shining Angel. Casey was extremely surprised, and had no idea what to say, merely turning her head to Blake.

"I have a _lot_ of things to explain." Blake told her.

**End of Chapter 29.

* * *

**

_Its Shione's turn to battle, and it won't be easy. If the Olympians thought that Kichigai's Wicked Gods were powerful, wait until they face Shione. The 'Phantom Beasts' in her deck were merely a sign of what's to come, and it something the Olympians would have never thought they'd have to face. Lost Paradise is next!

* * *

_

A/N: Takahiro's name means 'widespread nobility'. It is a reference to his former status as a 'king', and his deck represents this.

EDIT: Jihl is not my character. Creative credit for her goes to rainbow2369.

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Titanic Deity-Cronus - Monster Card

Type: Zombie/Synchro

Attribute: Dark

Level: 10

ATK: 1700

DEF: 2000

Effect:

"Plaguespreader Zombie + 1 or more non-tuner Zombie-Type monsters"

Once per turn, you can take control of an opponent's monster and equip it to this card. This card gains attack points equal to the attack points of the equipped monster. (Only 1 card at a time can be equipped due to this effect. If this card would be destroyed, the equipped monster is destroyed instead.)

* * *

Titanic Deity-Cronus/Assault Mode - Monster Card

Type: Zombie

Attribute: Dark

Level: 11

ATK: 2300

DEF: 2100

Effect: This card cannot be destroyed in battle. This card gains half the total attack points of all the monsters on its controller's field other than itself. Neither player takes damage from battles involving this card. Once per turn, you can take control of one monster on your opponent's field, and switch control of it to your field, but it cannot attack. During each of your end phases, your opponent takes 100 points of damage times the total level of all their monsters under this card's control. If this card were to be destroyed by a card effect, you can switch the target to another monster on your field.


	30. Chapter 30: Lost Paradise

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Whispers In The Dark by Skillet

* * *

_

**Chapter 30: Lost Paradise**

As Blake had promised Casey, after his nap, he joined her, Trent, Zeke, and Akira in the bedroom where Zeke was healing and explained everything that had happened. Akira had finally managed to wake up, and Zeke was well enough to sit there and talk with them for a while. He started from the very beginning, the day he had dueled Amber, who now went by the name of Shione.

He explained their history, and the duel they had. He explained how he was feeling a bit confused about having to fight her in this war. Then, he explained about his new powers, which he seemed to have gotten the day he got his new deck. His new powers were the reason why he had healed so quickly overnight. Of course, explaining this part wasn't all that easy, as he had to admit that he broke into Sector Security HQ and stole heavily guarded cards.

He then moved on, and began to talk to them about what happened during the time he was gone. How he was able to use the powers hidden in his deck to travel all the way to L.A and back. He also told them how he met Crusher, surprising them, as they never expected Crusher to be there as well. Crusher had not only obtained much information regarding the war, he told them, but he was also on the side of the Olympians, and was sad to know that his friend Kaiser was with the Titans.

Then he told them how he had made up his mind to come back after a duel against two of Crusher's enemies, and how he was determined to help them win this war.

In turn, they told him of what happened with them. They told him how Zeke, at the cost of being stuck in bed for some time, managed to claim their first victory against the Titans. Then they told him how Akira proceeded to fight with Kichigai, an ally of the Titans and the wielder of the Wicked Gods, the demonic counterparts to the Egyptian God cards. They told him how, despite suffering severe exhaustion after this battle, he was able to win as well.

After being caught up, they proceeded to the window, staring in awe as most of Neo Domino was gone. In the very middle of the city, devouring most Neo Domino, was a large tree, old with age and almost dead. There were very few leaves on it, and it brought with it a dark aura as grey clouds covered the skies and enveloped the city in darkness. Neo Domino was now sealed off, as large rock formations appeared around the perimeter of the city, creating an impenetrable wall.

* * *

Hikazu was sitting in the meeting room, with Atlas by his side. He was discussing their last loss.

"Every plan has complications. How were you supposed to know that Blake would just show up out of nowhere? In all honesty, choosing Takahiro was a great idea. His deck could have easily defeated Casey's. You know, I can see why Cronus chose him as his vessel. Both of them had a high status, and were thrown off their thrones by some newcomer. Not to mention the fact that they were both banished to their own version of the 'underworld'. Those two were peas in a pod." he stated.

"Yeah, you're right about that." Hikazu agreed. "I just hope that Shione can claim a victory. Otherwise, the Titans will have my head!" he exclaimed, a bit of fear in his tone.

"Trust me, its not the Titans you'll have to worry about." said a voice from behind.

Hikazu's eyes widened and looked behind him, Standing there in front of him were two people. One was a young woman that he had never seen before, but could feel a strange aura around her. The other one was a young man with spiky orange hair, orange eyes, a grey shirt beneath a brown sweater, a pair of jeans, and some white/orange sneakers. The man glared at him with death in his eyes.

"Who the hell are you!" Hikazu demanded. "Are you... my replacement?" he asked, afraid that his time as leader had finally come.

Matsu put his hand on the wall, causing the whole room to be enveloped in ice. A few columns of ice rose from the ground and pinned Hikazu against the wall. His eyes widened, thinking that this man might be a man that was supposed to be dead. "K-Kaiser?" he stuttered.

There was no other explanation in his mind. Despite the fact that he looked completely different, he could feel something familiar about the man. He could swear it was Kaiser, though it could just as easily have been a new vessel for the same Titan. But he knew that he was kidding himself. It _must_ be Kaiser.

"You slimy little worm! Using my defeat by Akira's hands to worm your way as the leader!" His voice was strong and fierce. Hikazu was beginning to think that all those times he tried to anger Kaiser, the most he did was just get on his nerves. The way he spoke now, he was _truly_ angry.

"You are an incompetent idiot that can't even gain the position as leader honorably! You don't even realize the extent of what you've done! All my careful planning was ruined by you! If it wasn't for Shione and Kichigai being on my side, I wouldn't even be able to fix things at this point!" he exclaimed.

Hikazu, having enough of the insults, let his wild temper free. The heat around him became so intense that the ice shattered, freeing him. His arms were covered in flames that ran all the way up to his head. "Please! Your little group of friends were weak! You are weak as well! Defeated, and then you just mysteriously disappeared! The way I see it, the position was free game. You are just pissed because I bested you at your own game!"

"Bested me? I count three losses, and zero wins. That's not beating me, that's just proving my point that you are a poor excuse as a leader!" Matsu replied.

Out of anger, Hikazu threw a punch, but Matsu quickly grabbed his arm and knocked him down. "You are out of your league."

Hikazu, now getting up, chuckled. "Oh please. Did you forget? I have Atlas on my side, and all you have is a frail young woman here to defend you." he stated, causing Jihl to shoot him a deadly glare.

"Isn't that right, Atlas?" But no verbal response came. When Hikazu looked around, he saw that Atlas was standing next to Matsu.

"Every plan has its complication. In our case, that complication is _you._" he replied coldly.

"You son of a bitch!" Hikazu shouted, pissed off at the fact that he had been played.

"I was on Kaiser's side this whole time. Knowing you could hinder the plan, I decided to keep tabs on you. Which worked out well after Kaiser's defeat. While he was being punished by the Titans, I was able to remain here and keep track of all the things you did. Meanwhile, Jihl here was taking care of Kaiser until the Titans were done." he said, pointing to Jihl, who was currently standing next to Matsu at the moment.

Columns of ice shot out from the ground once more, extinguishing Hikazu's flames. "I suggest you get ready. You _are_ the next one to fight, after all. Think of it as a chance to fix all the problems you created by interfering with my plans."

* * *

Blake rode his new Duel Runner, which he named Nanobreaker, down the streets of Neo Domino. After convincing Trent that he was much better, and that his powers would keep him protected, Trent let him go on a scouting mission to check out the large tree that appeared in the middle of the city. That, and based on the fact that Casey was probably the Titan's next target and Akira and Zeke still needed to recover, he was pretty much the only one there who could go.

Of course, there was more to this than his friends thought. Trent had explained to the group that each of the cards dropped by their opponents were probably a sign. A sign telling them of their next opponent. He pointed out that the _'Statue of the Wicked'_ card in Zeke's clothes foretold Kichigai being their next opponent. Taking out the _'Revived King Ha Des'_, and with Blake's help, they figured out that this one also told them of who their next opponent would be.

Unfortunately, Blake didn't tell them about the card he found after his duel, using this as a way to convince Trent to let him scout the city.

As he looked at the card he found in his last duel, the image of Amber entered his thoughts.

"Blake! Where are you going?" shouted Trent from the transmitter.

"Sorry, but I have something I have to do." he replied.

"Blake! I'm not kidding here! Don't do anything stupid! Get back-!" A crackling sound interrupted the transmission, soon followed by the sound of static. Blake's eyes stopped glowing, turning back to normal. _'Sorry guys, but this is my fight... I can't let any of you fight it for me.'_ he thought.

In less than half an hour, he managed to get to the tree. He was now standing before the very roots of the tree, which were as big as most of the buildings they smashed through. Blake was awestruck, unable to believe that there really was a tree that big in existence.

A figure walked out from beneath the roots, but remained in the shadows a little longer. Blake's powers activated, causing him to feel the figure's presence. He turned to it, silent for a moment. "Hey... Shione." he said awkwardly, not used to calling her anything but Amber.

Shione stepped out of the shadows, the small bit of light in the area allowing Blake to see her clearly. In his mind, she looked just as beautiful as always. "Hi, Blake." she replied, sadness in her voice.

"Listen... I'm sorry. For what happened the last time we saw each other, for the way I ended things... For everything." he said.

She gestured for him not to continue. "Why would you say that? I hurt you! I almost killed you! I'm the one who should be sorry! We wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for what I did."

Blake smiled and shook his head. "Things happen. We just need to learn not to dwell on them." he told her. "If I had just forgotten about it and forgiven you... I didn't mean what I said in our last duel. I was just angry."

"You have no good reason to forgive me, Blake. You have no obligation to save me, either. After all I did to you, you should hate me. It was good that you said those things. Now I know how badly I hurt you that day. When you said those things, I realized that I still haven't been able to know exactly how you felt."

"What do you mean?" he asked her.

"In our last duel, I told you that I knew how you felt. I was wrong. After hearing what you said, I realized that even though I felt the pain of being betrayed, that wasn't your pain." She lowered her head, staring at the floor. "Your pain didn't come from being betrayed by a friend. It came from being betrayed by someone you loved."

"Shione..." he said in a whisper. "How exactly did you end up with the Titans?"

"My so-called friends left me for dead. During a robbery that went wrong, they left me behind for the cops to arrest, while they managed to escape." She sighed. "While I was in jail, awaiting sentencing, Payne, the Titan's recruiter offered to help me. He said that if there was one thing I really had to do, I could get a chance to do that by simply helping him. After having thought about it, I decided what it was that I had to do, and I joined them. I gained my freedom, and the power to make my wish come true." she explained.

"Shione, you know you don't have to do this, right?" he said. "You don't have to be with the Titans. You can be with us, with me."

Shione was silent. She wasn't sure of what to say. His words were sweet, and she wanted to believe him, but all their history wouldn't allow it. Much less would the Titans. If they ever found out, they'd hunt her down relentlessly. She shook her head. "I can't. As much as I would like to, I can't. I'd put you guys in even more trouble." she said softly.

Blake sighed. "You know, sometimes, I wish we could have stopped any of this from ever happening. That we would still be together, without any need for war or having the fate of the world in our hands."

Shione nodded. "I'd like that too."

"Are you sure we can't start over? Just run away, you and me, and be free from all of this?" he asked her.

"You know it won't work like that, Blake. This war spreads all over the planet. It wouldn't matter where we went, we'd be stuck in the middle of all the fighting. Even worse, we might even be stuck on opposite sides until one of the sides wins." she replied.

"Is that so? Are you saying we have no choice but to fight each other?"

Shione nodded. "Yes."

Blake lowered his head. "In that case, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do."

Shione nodded. She knew that this would be the only way to fix everything. It would help put an end to the war, and allow herself to finally pay for the way she had wronged him. It had always torn her heart that her mistake caused her to lose Blake, and this was the only chance she would have to fix things between them. She knew that, although Blake had said some hurtful things the last time they saw each other, he didn't truly mean them. It was the anger, and the pain, that she had caused him that made him say all that. In his eyes she could see that he still loved her, and in her heart, she still loved him.

From the shadows came out a Duel Runner. It was of the same model used by Ghost during his duels, though it had the same color scheme as Blake's Duel Runner. "Let's duel." she stated, mounting her Duel Runner.

Just like the duel between Blake and Takahiro, all the television screens and computer monitors presented the duel, without a comment from Hikazu, who was probably ashamed from having trash-talked so much before each one of his team's defeats.

(4000-4000) [0:0]

Shione began her turn first. "By the way, you can call me Amber if you want." she told him, drawing her first card.

"I start by setting a card and a monster on the field. I end my turn with that." she stated, two cards appearing next to her Duel Runner before fading away into nothingness.

"Also, Blake, since we are dueling inside this large tree, the effects of the Lost Paradise field spell are applied in this duel." she told him.

"Lost Paradise field spell? What does it do?"

"You'll see soon enough..." she replied.

(4000-4000) [1:1]

As Blake began his turn, he couldn't help but examine the surroundings. Though the lights on their Duel Runners were on, it wasn't allowing much visibility. Even the glowing white path that they were riding on didn't let him see all that far ahead. It seemed as though it was way too dark inside the tree for one to see, no matter what they used.

In his hand, he held Black Salvo, Giga-Tech Wolf, Threatening Roar, Adhesive Explosive, Reckless Greed, and V-Tiger Jet.

"I set two cards on the field, and summon Giga-Tech Wolf in attack mode!" The iron wolf appeared on the field, its claws made out of strong metal, which allowed it to break through almost any armor. (1200/1400)

"Attack her face-down monster!" The wolf opened its mouth, firing a small beam of energy that shattered the card to pieces. In return, the shards flew at Blake, inflicting damage. Then, two Giant Germ appeared on the field. (1000/100)

"I end my turn."

(3500-4000) [2:2]

"My turn." stated Shione, drawing a card.

"I summon Mad Reloader in attack mode!" A beastly looking fiend, very similar in appearance to Raviel, Lord of Phantasms, appeared on the field. It had purple skin, with a blue exoskeleton made of bones to protect itself. It had four yellow horns and an extremely long tongue that hung from its open mouth. (0/0)

"Next I activate, Labyrinth of Nightmare!" Suddenly, the dak tunnel that they were going through changed, instead becoming a large labyrinth, walls closing them inside. Blake knew it was real, but what he wasn't sure about were the images of ghosts that seemed to just barely appear from time to time.

"With this, all of the turn player's monsters will be forced to change their battle positions during the end of each turn." The two Giant Germ switched to defense mode, while Mad Reloader switched into attack mode

"I end my turn."

(3500-4000) [3:3]

Blake started his turn, drawing Cannon Soldier.

"I summon Cannon Soldier in attack mode!" Standing next to Giga-Tech Wolf, its partner, Cannon Soldier, appeared. It posed as it prepared to battle. (1400/1300)

"Cannon Soldier, attack Mad Reloader!" Cannon Soldier fired its lasers, eradicating the fiend from the field.

"When Mad Reloader is destroyed by battle, I can send two cards from my hand to the graveyard and draw two cards."

"You know I don't want to fight you, right Amber?"

As she added the two cards to her hand, she nodded. "I know." Just then, they took a sharp turn, causing Blake to almost crash into the wall.

"I end my turn." he said, his monsters now switching to defense mode. He knew that if he wanted to save her, he couldn't risk losing too many Life Points this early in the duel.

(3500-4000) [4:4]

"Amber, please! We need to stop this duel. I can help you. I'll protect you!"

Those last three words stopped her from drawing. "Blake..." she said in a low voice. "The last time you told me that, I ended up hurting you! You shouldn't try to save me. Just duel me, and defeat me! Make everything right again! Take all the pain I've caused you and give it back to me. Otherwise..." she paused for a moment. "Otherwise, I won't be able to forgive myself for what I've done to you!"

She drew a card, and began her turn. "I summon Chaos Core in defense mode!" A pitch-black demon appeared on the field, the lower half of its body sealed inside a dark orb. (0/0)

"I switch both my Giant Germ to attack mode and end my turn." The two Giant Germ switched into defense mode, while the new monster she summoned switched into attack mode.

(3500-4000) [5:5]

Blake started his turn, drawing Speed Spell-Speed Fusion.

"I activate the speed spell, Speed Fusion! When I have at least four speed counters, I can fusion summon a monster to my field!" Giga-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier jumped inside a swirling portal that appeared in front of them. Moments later, the large Labyrinth Tank emerged. (2400/2400)

"Next I summon Blak Salvo!" The small tuner monster appeared on the field, a mischievous look on its face. (100/1100)

Just then, Cannon Soldier appeared on the field once more. "Thanks to Black Salvo's effect, I can special summon a Dark attribute level four Machine-Type monster from my graveyard. Next, I tune them together!" Black Salvo dissolved into three rings that surrounded Cannon Soldier, turning it into four glowing stars.

_"When things look bad, bring in the firepower! Synchro Summon! Back me up, Dark Strike Fighter!"_

There was a flash, and a large robot appeared on the field. It resembled an android version of a large bomber jet. His famed Dark Strike Fighter posed triumphantly, ready to battle. (2600/1800)

"Dark Strike Fighter, destroy Chaos Core!"

"I activate Chaos Core's effect. When it is attacked while in attack mode, I can send 'Uria, Lord of Searing Flames', 'Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder', and 'Raviel, Lord of Phantasms' from my hand or deck to the graveyard, and give it three Sacred Beast Counters. Now, when it battles, I can just remove a counter and negate its destruction as well as the damage!" Dark Strike Fighter threw a fist at the fiend, but it pushed the machine back with ease.

"Sacred Beasts?" said Blake. "Why do you have the Sacred Beasts, Amber?"

Shione, however, did not answer.

"Damn it! Did you already forget what happens to people who use those cards? The Sacred Beasts will manipulate you! They don't care about what you want unless it helps them get what _they_ want!" Blake growled.

"Labyrinth Tank, attack Chaos Core!" The machine fired a volley of missiles, but the fiend merely avoided them all.

"I end my turn." stated Blake, causing his monsters to switch to defense mode.

(3500-4000) [6:6]

"Blake, stop doing this! Just duel! I don't want you to save me! I don't deserve it! I hurt you way too much. If I turned back now, I could never live with myself." Shione said as she began her turn.

"I activate the speed spell, Count-Up! By sending a number of cards from my hand to the graveyard, I can gain two speed counters for each card I discarded!" Two of the cards in her hand were discarded, causing her speed counters to rise to 11.

"Next, I sacrifice a Giant Germ to summon Dark Summoning Beast!" One of the Giant Germ faded away, and from the walls of the labyrinth emerged a dark figure. It was a dragon-like demon, with brown skin, red eyes, a purple jewel on its head, and wore a red robe. (0/0)

"I use its effect, sacrificing it in order to summon the three Sacred Beasts from my graveyard!"

They exited the inside of the large tree, now riding atop one of its massive branches. From there, Blake could see the three Sacred Beasts.

The first one, a much larger version of Mad Reloader, though more menacing. It was stronger, and not even the large tree they were riding on could dwarf its size by much. It had purple skin, with a blue exoskeleton covering parts of its body, as well as its entire tail. Unlike Mad Reloader, however, its face was far from comical. It was dark and scary, only emphasizing its power. It was Raviel, Lord of Phantasms. (4000/4000)

The second monster was Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder. It was similar to The Winged Dragon of Ra's phoenix form combined with Archfiend Zombie-Skull. Its large size was the same as that of Raviel, though its wingspan was almost twice as large. Its large, bony body was gold, and it was as fiendish as Archfiend Zombie-Skull itself. (4000/4000)

The last monster was Uria, Lord of Searing Flames. It was just as big as the other two sacred beasts, but it had the body of an Oriental dragon. It had the same basic appearance as Slifer the Sky Dragon, minus the two mouths and two pairs of eyes. (0/0)-(4000/4000)

"Uria's attack points are a thousand for each continuous trap in my graveyard. Currently, there are four of them." she explained.

Blake could tell that the stories he'd heard about the Sacred Beasts were true. Three monsters with 4000 attack points each summoned all at once. This duel was going to end fast, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be on the winning side.

"However, since I summoned them through Dark Summoning Beast's effect, they can't attack this turn."

Blake breathed a sigh of relief.

"But I can still use Uria's effect, allowing me to destroy a set spell or trap card on the field." She turned her Duel Runner around, pointing to one of Blake's set cards. Uria released a powerful breath of fire, torching Blake's Threatening Roar trap card.

"I switch Chaos Core to defense mode, and end my turn." All of her monsters soon switched battle positions.

(3500-4000) [7:12]

As Blake started his turn, he wasn't sure of what he could do. He wanted to save her, but at the rate things were going, he doubted he could even save himself.

"I activate the trap card, Reckless Greed. At the cost of my next two draw phases, I can draw two more cards!" He took two cards from the top of his deck and added them to his hand.

"I summon Healing Wave Generator in attack mode!" A mechanical mirror, with a series of light bulbs around its sides, appeared on the field. (800/1600)

"This card allows me to regain Life Points equal to the level of a monster on my field times a hundred." Healing Wave Generator turned to Dark Strike Fighter, and a glowing light fell over Blake, increasing his Life Points by 700 points.

"Next, I set a card on the field and switch my other two monsters to attack mode. I end my turn with that." All monsters on his field switched to defense mode, creating a good defense that would allow Blake to live for another turn.

(4200-4000) [8:12]

"I activate the continuous trap, The Eye of Truth!" shouted Blake. "During each of your standby phases, you have to show me your hand, and you obtain a thousand Life Points if you hold a spell card."

On his helmet, a display of Shione's hand appeared, One of the cards was Speed Spell-Dimension Fusion Destruction. This caused Shione's Life Points to rise to 5000 points.

"I activate the effect of the Lost Paradise field spell. As long as I have at least one of the Sacred Beasts on my field, I can draw two cards during my main phase 1." she explained, drawing twice.

_'So that's why. Its her way of staying ahead of her opponent...'_ Blake thought, realizing why this field spell was used.

"Hamon, Uria, and Raviel! Attack his monsters and wipe out his field!" All three of Blake's monsters were destroyed, either by a bolt of lightning, searing flames, or just being crushed by a massive tail.

"When Hamon destroys a monster by battle, you take a thousand points of damage!" A bolt of lightning hit Blake dead-on, causing him to scream in agony.

"I'm sorry, Blake, but one of us needs to win." she said under her breath.

Had not it not been for his powers activating and maneuvering the Duel Runner back onto the middle of the track before it drove off the edge, Blake would not be alive right now. He had been lucky this time, but he wasn't sure how long this power would last him. He had to hurry up and end this duel.

"I end my turn." Once again, all three Sacred Beasts switched to defense mode.

(3200-5000) [9:12]

Blake struggled to continue, his hands now feeling intensely numb. He wondered if any of his current movements were a result of his willpower, or the powers he had recently obtained.

"I set a card on the field, and summon V-Tiger Jet in attack mode!" The tiger-like machine appeared on the field, releasing a mechanical roar. (1600/1800)

"I set a card and end my turn." he stated, causing V-Tiger Jet to switch to defense mode.

(3200-5000) [10:12]

"I activate the trap card, Threatening Roar! This prevents you from attacking for this turn." stated Blake. It only took him one display of Uria's power to learn that if he wanted his traps to work, he had to use them as fast as he could, and that meant using them at the very start of Shione's turn to avoid Uria using his effect.

Shione had an annoyed expression on her face as she gained Life Points due to Blake's trap card. "Blake, I don't understand why you are doing this! If you want to live and help your friends, then you need to _lower_ my Life Points instead of raising them Are you _trying _to lose?" Though the question was somewhat rhetorical, it was answered when she saw the determined look on his face.

Her eyes widened in realization of this. _'He _is_ trying to lose! Why?'_ she thought.

"Blake, why are you doing this? What could you possibly gain from letting me win?" she asked him.

"That's a stupid question." he replied, chuckling slightly. "If you love someone, you would do anything for them. If I have to risk my life in other to save yours, then I will!"

Shione gasped, speechless. She couldn't believe this. The person that she was doing all of this for, whom she hurt, was trying to risk his life just so that she could live. It was impossible. She had done far too much to him for him to still love her.

"I can't attack, so I'll just end my turn."

(3200-6000) [10:12]

Blake knew he had bought himself a bit of time, but it wouldn't be like that for long. He remembered the cards in her hand. Though she had the speed counters to use them, she hadn't done so yet. Maybe, he figured, he wasn't the only one planning to lose.

Of course, to be perfectly honest, there was more to his strategy than Shione believed.

As they continued on the limbs of the tree, they noticed they were about to reach the end, so they drove off the edge, landing on a branch, allowing them to continue with their duel.

"I activate the speed spell, Shift Down! By removing six speed counters, I can draw two cards!" As his speed counters dropped, he fell back, and once again, he tried to rely on his powers to help him draw what he needed.

"I activate the speed spell, Dash Pilfer. It allows me to take control of one defense position monster on your field until the end of my turn. Since all your Sacred Beasts are in defense mode, I can choose any."

He pointed to Hamon, who then proceeded to oppose the two other Sacred Beasts.

"They all have the same attack and defense points! You can't do anything with that!" Shione stated.

"I can if I activate the speed spell, High Speed Crash! At the cost of a card on my field, I can destroy a card on your field. So, by destroying Hamon, I can also destroy Raviel!" Hamon screeched, and bolts of lightning fell from the sky, eradicating both Sacred Beasts.

"Raviel! Hamon!" Shione cried out. "Blake, I know you well enough to know that you could have won quite a while ago! Why don't you just hurry? I already told you that you can't save me!"

"And I already told you that I'm sorry for what I'm about to do!" he replied. "I switch V-Tiger Jet to attack mode and end my turn."

(3200-6000) [5:12]

The effect of the Eye of Truth activated, and Shione gained even more Life Points.

"You asked for this, Blake. Like I already explained to you, only one of us can win! I activate the speed spell, Summon Speeder! This allows me to special summon a level four or lower monster from my hand! I summon Phantom of Chaos!"

A pitch-black swirling circle appeared on the field. (0/0)

"Next, I use my normal summon to summon another!"

Another pitch-black swirling circle appeared. (0/0)

"They have a very nice effect. By removing an effect monster in my graveyard from play, I can have it be treated as that monster!"

She removed two monsters from her graveyard, pocketing them. The first Phantom of Chaos changed, becoming a pitch-black double of Raviel. (4000/4000)

The second one changed into a pitch-black double of Hamon. (4000/4000)

"The one treated as Raviel can't attack though. And though neither one can deal battle damage, through Hamon's effect, I can still reduce your Life Points by a thousand! Hamon, Uria, attack his monsters!"

Uria scorched V-Tiger Jet into nothingness, while Hamon struck Blake's hidden monster with a bolt of lightning, causing it to explode. From the smoke, a small machine flew out and stuck itself into Hamon.

"When Adhesive Explosive is destroyed by battle while set, it attaches itself onto the monster that destroyed it, and on your next standby phase, your monster will be destroyed."

"Due to Hamon's effect, you still take a thousand points of effect damage!" Another bolt of lightning hit Blake, stronger than the previous one. He screamed in agony once more, but his determination overrode his powers, allowing him to keep himself in the middle of the track out of sheer will.

"That's not so bad..." he said, panting. His vision was starting to go, and he doubted he could take another hit.

"Also, I'll have Giant Germ attack directly!" The strange fiend tackled Blake, almost making him veer off track.

"Next, I activate the speed spell, Dimension Fusion Destruction! At the cost of 12 speed counters..." Her Duel Runner slowed down severely, causing her to fall behind Blake. "I can remove from play a Uria, Hamon, and a Raviel on my field, and summon Armityle, the Chaos Phantom!"

Uria, along with the two monsters that were temporarily being treated as Sacred Beasts, disappeared into the clouds. After a few lightning bolts, caused by a roar, struck some of the buildings that were still standing in Neo Domino, a creature three times large than any of the Sacred Beasts appeared in the sky. It had Raviel's upper body, though it had a yellow/red exoskeleton. Its left arm was Uria's head, while its wings were Hamon's. The lower half of its body was the rest of Uria's body covered by a yellow exoskeleton. (0/0)

"This is the fusion of the Sacred Beasts! It can't be destroyed by battle, and during my turn, its attack points rise to ten-thousand!" she explained.

"I end my turn."

(1200-7000) [6:0]

Blake drew a card, adding it to his hand.

"Amber, you can still stop this. Please. Stop this duel and be with me!"

Shione tried to hold back her tears. "Its too late, Blake! The Sacred Beasts won't let me stop this. They'll want me to continue to fight until one of us loses!"

Blake sighed. Then You've left me no choice! I use Speed World 2's effect. By giving up 7 speed counters, I can draw once more!" Blake's eyes glowed even brighter, his powers reaching their limit so that this next draw was what he needed.

As he fell back, leaving Shione in the front, Shione could feel something strange. His intention wasn't to lose, it was to win. But, win what? He only had two cards in his hand, and no speed counters.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(1200-7000) [0:1]

Shione's Life Points now rose to 8000. She had twice the amount of Life Points she started with. Now, she began to wonder what Blake had set. However, through the effects of the Lost Paradise field spell, and her hand size limit of six cards, she had discarded all cards that weren't monsters. More specifically, monsters that could bring back any of the Sacred Beasts if they were destroyed.

"I activate the trap card, Gift Card. This increases your Life Points by three-thousand more points!" stated Blake, snapping Shione out of her thoughts and bringing her back to reality.

"What are you planning, Blake?"

"I'll give you one more chance, Amber. Forget about the Titans and come with me! I can protect you!"

Shione shook her head. "No, you can't! Not from this! Besides, you can't win! Its all over now! Armityle, attack him directly!"

As Armityle prepared to attack, Blake's last trap card revealed itself. "I activate the trap card, Self-Destruct button! When I have less Life Points than you, and the difference is more than seven-thousand points, both of our Life Points drop to zero!"

There was a large explosion. Armityle retreated back into the clouds, and there was silence in the air.

Blake and Shione were lying on the ground below, the pieces of their Duel Runners scattered around them. There was a small puddle of blood on the ground, but it seemed to be a mixture of blood that flowed from their many injuries. Shione, hardly conscious crawled towards Blake.

"Blake... Why?" she asked him, tears in her eyes as she placed her head on top of his chest. It was almost like that time. When she had betrayed him. This was similar to how she had found him.

Blake struggled to smile, the pain being a difficult obstacle to overcome. "Because, I love you. I wouldn't be able to live without you. I had to try to save you from such a horrible fate. If I couldn't do that, I'd at least keep my promise this time."

Shione sniffled. "Your... promise?"

"Yeah." he replied. "I told you we'd be together. That I'd always be by your side. The Titans, nor the Olympians, will stop me from fulfilling that promise..."

"Oh, Blake..." She kissed him deeply, happy to know how he felt, and happy because Blake knew how she felt. Her wish, she believed, had been fulfilled. All she wanted to gain from this war was to make Blake happy, even if it meant that she wouldn't be able to be with him, but instead, she was able to with him, and that was what made him happy.

She hugged him as they slowly faded away into the air. Blake had left his friends behind, but he got what he wanted, and though they would have to face the rest of the Titans themselves, at least he helped even the odds...

**End of Chapter 30.

* * *

**

_Kaiser is kicking his plans into action, sending Hikazu to fight against Casey. Though Hikazu was unhappy with being ordered to fight Casey, he's decided to channel that anger into something productive. Now able to use his Titanic Deity, he's going to show Casey how strong he truly is. And if he manages to defeat her, he'll show Kaiser who's truly in control. The Infernal Flame Emperor is next!

* * *

_

A/N: The speed spell, Dimension Fusion Destruction is a 'Speed Spell' version of Dimension Fusion Destruction. The original card has the same effect as its speed spell version, minus the 12 speed counter cost, as the original one has no cost to use.


	31. Chapter 31: The Infernal Flame Emperor

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Never Again by Disturbed_

A/N: This is a pretty long chapter. In fact, its the longest one yet. I debated whether I should split it into two shorter chapters, but since I felt like splitting it would take away a good amount of the intensity of the chapter, I decided to leave it as is.

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 31: The Infernal Flame Emperor**

The scene was one of the very last things you'd expect to see. It was a duel between Trent and Hikazu, known better in the criminal world as 'Blaze'.

They were the only people in the entire building. Any civilians had managed to get out in time, and Casey and her friends had managed to escape, though Zeke and Akira weren't in perfect condition for such a thing.

As for Trent's team, well, let's just say that Hikazu had obviously been holding himself back all this time. Hikazu was on a rampage, and he would no longer let himself be bound by the last shred of morality that was hiding deep inside him. He was being ruthless, and would not allow anyone to stop him from taking down the Olympians.

They had just activated their duel disks, about to start a fight for their lives.

This was Trent's last act of defiance against the Titans, as well as his last chance to keep his promise to Brutus. He had sacrificed his entire team, and probably, his own life, to allow the Olympians to recover and get ready for battle.

"Duel!" they shouted in unison.

(4000-4000)

As Hikazu began his turn, Trent couldn't help but think about all that had been going on. He was surely hoping that Casey, Zeke, and Akira had managed to get someplace safe. However, he was grateful that this building was much sturdier than it seemed. Though the lower levels were on fire, like in almost every other building in Neo Domino, the fire hadn't yet spread fast enough to reach them on this floor.

This meant that he had time to duel here, but he couldn't waste too much time. Sooner or later, the fire would reach this floor. At that point, there would probably be no chance to escape.

"I'll start my turn by summoning Volcanic Rocket!" A pterodactyl made out of molten lava, old animal bones, and several rocks appeared on the field. (1900/1400)

"When this monster is summoned, I can add one 'Blaze Accelerator', or one 'Tri-Blaze Accelerator' from my deck to my hand." A card slid out from his deck, and he added it to his hand.

"Next, I'll set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Trent looked through his hand, and then quickly scanned the field. If he wanted to win, he'd have to do this quickly. He held Alien Dog, Planet Pollutant Virus, Alien Telepath, Alien Mars, Alien Ammonite, and Brainwashing Beam.

"I set two cards on the field, and set one monster on the field. I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Hikazu began his turn, the look on his face proof enough that he did not want to waste any time.

"You know, I must admit that you must have guts if you actually want to protect those guys after seeing the death of your teammates. Not just that, but it seems as though you don't even care about your teammates' deaths."

"Of course I care!" he replied. "But there are far more important things to worry about while I still live, and they all knew what might happen during this war. They gave up their lives for Casey, Zeke, and Akira, just like Blake did. I won't let their sacrifices be in vain!"

"So that's why you refuse to tell me where the Olympians are headed? Well, that's too bad, because I'm not feeling merciful at the moment. Soon, you shall see your friends in the afterlife!" he declared.

"I activate the continuous spell, Blaze Accelerator!" A high-tech cannon with three legs appeared on the field.

"Next, by sending it to my graveyard, I can activate the continuous spell, Tri-Blaze Accelerator!" The machine glowed and became even bigger, now able to fire three missiles rather than one laser.

Hikazu laughed maniacally. "For my next trick, you shall see your death! I send my Tri-Blaze Accelerator to the graveyard to special summon Volcanic Doomfire!" A large creature, with a skeletal body made out of red and black molten lava rocks appeared on the field. Its head had wild flames that ran down its back, as if it were hair. Its long tail was made up of many lava rocks held together by molten lava. (3000/1800)

"Now, I can destroy your set monster with Volcanic Rocket, and severely cripple your Life Points so that I can take you down on my next turn! Rocket, attack!"

Trent's trap activated quickly. "I activate the trap card, Planet Pollutant Virus! By sacrificing an 'Alien' monster on my field, I can destroy all monsters on your field without an A-Counter!" His monster, Alien Telepath, exploded, covering the entire field in smoke.

Trent, however, barely had time to react when he saw a giant fireball hit him directly, causing a burning sensation all over his skin, which in turn made him cry out in pain.

The smoke cleared, and Trent caught a glimpse of the trap card, Spiritual Fire Art-Kurogane, just before it shattered. "This trap card allows me to destroy a Fire attribute monster on my field and hit you with effect damage equal to the attack points of the monster I sacrificed. Since Doomfire had 3000 attack points, that's exactly how much you lost!" Hikazu gloated.

Trent, however, wasn't bothered much by this. Technically, his opponent's field was empty, so he had a clear shot at evening the odds.

"I end my turn." stated Hikazu.

(1000-4000)

This time, Trent drew Swords of Revealing Lights. _'I'm not sure if this card can help me now. Then again, I also hope I won't have to use it after this turn, either...'_ he thought.

"I summon Alien Ammonite!" A small snail-like creature appeared on the field. It was blue, looked grotesque, and had many tentacles coming out from the inside of the shell. (500/200)

"Thanks to his effect, I can special summon a level four or lower alien monster from my graveyard until the end of my turn." The strange red alien known as Alien Telepath appeared on the field, with its big mouth open wide as some flames began to engulf its body. (1600/1000)

"Also, when I normal summon an 'Alien' monster, I can special summon Alien Dog to the field." Alien Dog, a strange canine that he had used against Armstrong the first time he tried to protect Casey and her friends, appeared on the field. (1500/1000)

"Now, I'll tune them together!" Alien Ammonite became a green ring that floated around the Alien Telepath on Trent's field, which then dissolved into four green stars.

_"Otherworldly warriors, lend me your strength! Let the power gained throughout your travels be released upon my enemy! Synchro Summon! Appear, Cosmic Fortress Gol'gar!"_

An immensely large alien creature appeared on the field. It looked like a giant worm, though its coloring was blue-green. It also had rocky spikes coming out of its long back. Its body had many tentacles, and its face was slimy. (2600/1800)

"Attack him directly and finish this!" Both creatures attacked, Gol'gar with its beams, and Alien Dog attacked with its claws. However, the result was not the one that Trent had hoped for.

Gol'gar's attack got through, but Hikazu discarded the Kuriboh he held in his hand to negate Alien Dog's attack.

"Did you really think that you are the only one who knows what their opponent is capable of? I already knew well that your monster could clear my field, so why not lure you into a false sense of security? Its not as if your monster can stop me from using effects that activate in my hand..." he stated with a wicked grin.

"I activate the spell card, Swords of Revealing Light. This will prevent you from attacking for three turns." he stated. "I end my turn."

_'Good... Even if he summons a monster that will deal effect damage, I doubt that it will be able to deal enough to beat me. Plus, any defenses that he puts up will just be taken apart by Gol'gar's effect, or I can just use Brainwashing Beam to take control of his monster.'_

(1000-1400)

Hikazu drew a card and added it to his hand. "I'll give you another chance to tell me where the Olympians are, before I defeat you."

"In case you haven't noticed, I have a large advantage over you. There's no way you can win. Aside from that, you can be sure that I won't tell you anything."

"Suit yourself." Hikazu replied with an air seriousness so scary that it slightly fazed Trent.

"By sacrificing two monsters on your field, I am able to special summon Lava Golem to your field." Both of Trent's monsters were gone, and Trent now found himself inside a steel cage. Behind him stood a tall creature made out of molten lava, and it rivaled the size of the apartment building itself.

"On your standby phase, you'll take a thousand points of damage. I end my turn."

(1000-1400)

Trent froze as his turn began. He had to draw and begin his turn, but if he did, then it would be certain death. Hikazu obviously wasn't kidding around anymore. This duel proved it to him. He gulped, and put his hand on the top card. He had to accept his defeat, and drawing was the only way to do this. If he accepted it, he also did a lot of things that he would have never realized at that moment.

He would have helped Casey, Zeke, and Akira get away. He would have kept his promise to Brutus. He would have helped prevent the world from being destroyed, if even for a bit. He would be with his team soon enough. And, most important of all, he'd prove to the Titans that he wasn't afraid of them at all, because he cared too much about his friends to be intimidated by then.

Trent cried out in agony as he recieved the damage from Lava Golem. He fell to his knees, barely able to continue on. This may not have been a shadow duel, but the pain was still intolerable. Hikazu picked him up by the collar of his shirt and held him over the edge of the building, as Lava Golem had destreoyed an entire wall with its attack.

"Now, you have one more chance to tell me where the Olympians are, or you die." Hikazu stated.

"Hikazu... You are going to _burn in Hell_!" Trent managed to say.

Hikazu smirked. "Suit yourself..." he said, releasing his grip to allow Trent to fall to his death...

* * *

Back at the Satellite, in the Titan's HQ, Jihl, Matsu, and Atlas were in the meeting room.

"I honestly can't believe that you are going to let Hikazu off that easily. What if he wins against the Olympian? Do you realize what would happen to our plans then?" Atlas asked.

Matsu smirked as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "That won't happen. I've already taken care of things. Trust me, Hikazu won't be surviving his duel." he assured him.

Jihl watched them intently. She was trying to gauge how their relationship was. Though she did indeed love Matsu, this was not a matter of jealousy. No, this was a matter of distrust. She had spent quite some time studying Atlas since she had come here, and if there was one thing that she knew, it was that something about Atlas wasn't right.

She could feel something strange about him, and she didn't like it. That's why she was studying them. Atlas was supposed to be Kaiser's, or rather, Matsu's friend. She wanted to see if Matsu also felt something strange about his friend, and if he knew about anything that would confirm her doubts about Atlas. However, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Either Atlas and Kaiser were very good friends, or one of them knew a lot more than the other and was able to effectively keep a poker face before all those around him.

"So... Atlas, huh? Is that what you told them your name was?" Matsu asked, causing Jihl to pay closer attention to their words.

"What? I'm a vessel, so its not out of the ordinary for me to go by the name of my Titan." he replied. "Besides, you're one to talk. Or do you expect me to believe that Kaiser is your real name?"

"Of course it isn't. We know that. What surprises me is that Hikazu didn't know about it. I thought that the first thing he would have done as leader would be to look up all the information about me."

Atlas smirked. Jihl saw this, and couldn't stop herself from finding out what he knew. "Atlas, why didn't Hikazu know? I remember him asking for all of our files."

"He asked for all our files, true. However, he had no knowledge about you, so I left that one behind. As for Matsu... In order to help him out, I decided to take the file with all the information on the _real_ Kaiser. Well, _almost_ all of the information." he explained.

* * *

Casey, Zeke, and Akira were all on their way to the Abandoned Arcadia Movement Building. It would be a good temporary shelter for them, though it wasn't as necessary anymore, since Zeke managed to use his psychic abilities to speed up his healing. Though they weren't completely healed, they were at least good enough for him to make his escape without worrying too much about worsening his injuries.

Zeke was riding on his Duel Runner, Silpheed. Though somewhat similar in design to Crow's Duel Runner, this one had no wings, was sleeker, and had a green/white color scheme.

Akira's Duel Runner, Theinen, was similar to the one used by Kiryu when he was a Dark Signer, though it was slightly shorter in length, and was much heavily armored than the other Duel Runners. Though Casey's, Zeke's, and Blake's Duel Runners were built mostly for speed, his was built for heavy damage during these Shadow Duels, able to withstand many beatings while being easy to maneuver in dangerous situations.

Casey held two cards in her hand. One was the one they found where most of Blake's Duel Runner was found, Phantom Beast Cross-Wing. The other one was found where most of Shione's, or rather, Amber's, Duel Runner had been found, King Pyron.

The cards had been recovered by Trent's team some hours before Hikazu's attack, and they had taken it with them in order to ensure that they could figure out how to deal with their next opponent.

"So, it seems that Blake was never planning on surviving that duel, huh?" asked Akira.

"It sure seems that way." Casey replied, sadness in her voice. They had lost a close friend. A friend who not only fought alongside them, but that also protected Casey from fighting against Takahiro, who, in hindsight, might have actually defeated her. He put his life on the line for them, and though he gave it up to finally be with the one he loved, he always kept them in mind, doing them the favor of cutting down the Titan's numbers so that they would have less to worry about.

"He did what he had to do." stated Zeke. "You can't blame him for that. Both of you know you would have done the same thing in his shoes."

Casey and Akira agreed. There really was no way to deny that fact. They honestly _would_, though they weren't sure if they would be able to pull it off like Blake did.

"So, based on the King Pyron card, and the attack on our apartment building, I believe that Hikazu is going to be our next opponent." said Akira.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he's defeated." stated Casey with determination.

"Sorry Casey, but I'd like to take him on. You've already fought him before." replied Akira.

"No way! You guys still need your rest, and I haven't had a chance to fight yet! Stop worrying so much about me and let me fight, so I can stop worrying about the two of you and finally do something!"

Akira nodded. "If that's how you truly feel, then I'm fine with it."

They soon heard the rumbling of an engine, and looked back to see a fire-red Duel Runner heading their way. Hikazu had finally caught up to them.

"Olympians, your time has come! I will no longer hold back against you!" he shouted. "I challenge you to another shadow duel. Once again, it will be two against one, with me having twice as many Life Points. Deal?"

Casey and Akira looked at each other. "Should we?" she asked him.

"Yes. Lets go and beat this guy!" he stated with determination. Just then, Zeke drove in between them, trying to get their attention.

"What? Are you guys actually going to leave me out of this fight?" he asked.

"Sorry Zeke, but I think we can all agree you've been burned enough for one war. Sit this one out and let your wounds finish healing. Casey and I can handle this." replied Akira.

"But you don't even have an idea of what he can do!"

"You let _us_ worry about that." he told him.

"You're on, Hikazu!" shouted Casey.

"Duel!" they all shouted in unison.

(4000/4000-8000) [0/0:0]

"I'll be starting this duel!" Hikazu demanded.

"I summon UFO Turtle in defense mode!" The strange alien turtle with a metal shell appeared on the field. (1400/1200)

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000/4000-8000) [0/0:0]

Casey looked at Hikazu's field, suspicious of what her opponent was planning. "Akira, be careful. He pulled the same thing last time we dueled him. I bet one of those cards he set is backfire." she told him through the transmitter in her helmet.

"I'll keep that in mind." he replied.

Casey drew a card and began her turn. In her hand she held: Field-Commander Rahz, The Dragon's Bead, Big Shield Gardna, The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, The Grave of Enkindling, and Protective Whistle.

"I set two cards on the field, and summon Field-Commander Rahz!" The young, yet experienced, warrior leaped onto the field, his sword ready for blood. (1600/1200)

"When he's summoned, I can use his effect, allowing me to take a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck and add it to the top of my deck." A card slid out from her deck, and the duel disk's auto-shuffle feature shuffled it into the top.

"Now, attack his UFO Turtle!" Rahz cut through the machine like it was made of rusted metal, and the creature's intense heat and pressure was released in the form of an explosion.

Then, another UFO Turtle appeared on the field, though Casey was surprised that Hikazu didn't activate Backfire. "I end my turn."

(4000/4000-8000) [1/1:1]

Akira scanned his hand quickly as he drew a card and began his turn. He held Inverse Universe, Desert Sunlight, Battle Mania, Giant Rat, Moai Interceptor Cannon, and Hieracosphinx.

"I summon Giant Rat in attack mode!" A large rodent with blue fur appeared on the field. (1400/1450)

"Attack his UFO Turtle!" Giant Rat tore a hole through the machine's shell, but the resulting explosion destroyed the beast as well.

"When Giant Rat is destroyed by battle, I can special summon an Earth attribute monster with 1500 attack points or less from my deck." Another Giant Rat appeared on his field.

"And with UFO Turtle's destruction, I can summon my third copy of that monster to the field." Hikazu's third and final UFO Turtle appeared on the field.

"Won't help you that much, though. I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000/4000-8000) [2/2:2]

"I summon Magna Drago in attack mode!" A dragon, with red skin that was immensely hot to the touch, appeared on the field. (1400/600)

"Now, I'll tune him to UFO Turtle!" Magna Drago turned into two green rings that revolved around UFO Turtle, who then dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Sparks ignite into flames! Let your wild spirit run free! Set this place ablaze, Flamvell Urquizas!"_

From the flames created by the tuning of those two monsters arose a tall man, of about six feet in height. He had long blue hair and wore a dark red/brown jumpsuit, his wrists creating a never-ending ring of flames. (2100/400)

"Urquizas, attack Rahz!" The warrior braced himself for the impact from the fiery fist of the synchro monster. Though he tried to defend himself with his sword, Urquizas tore through his defense like it was nothing.

"When Urquizas destroys a monster by battle, he gains an extra 300 attack points. I end my turn." he said, Urquizas' attack points rising to 2400.

(3500/4000-8000) [3/3:3]

Casey had felt her skin tingle from the heat of the flames, but she didn't let that bother her. "My turn." she said, drawing Obnoxious Celtic Guard.

"I'll set a monster on the field and end my turn." she stated.

(3500/4000-8000) [4/4:4]

Akira began his turn with a lucky draw.

"I set a monster on the field, and switch Giant Rat to defense mode!"

(3500/4000-8000) [5/5:5]

Hikazu laughed maniacally as he started his turn. "Oh! This is so fun! You guys are cowering behind those monsters of yours, all because you don't know that Urquizas can inflict piercing damage!"

This revelation caused both Casey and Akira to open their eyes wide in shock. This was not good news at all.

"You Olympians are a disgrace, and I'm about to show you why! I summon Volcanic Slicer!" The golden armored reptilian beast appeared on the field. (1800/1200)

"Urquizas, attack Giant Rat!"

As Urquizas began his attack, Akira's trap card revealed itself. "I activate the trap card, Inverse Universe! This switches the attack and defense of all effect monsters on the field until the end of this turn!"

Giant Rat, whose defense points were much higher than the attack points of the weakened Urquizas, charged into its attacker, knocking him back to his field.

"You son of a bitch!" Hikazu cursed, provoking Akira and Casey to smile in amusement.

The earth beneath them shook hard, forming cracks that were slowly oozing molten lava.

"I use the effect of Volcanic Slicer, hitting you with 500 points of damage in exchange for its attack!" The creature opened its mouth, firing at fireball at Akira.

Akira grit his teeth as the flames seared his back, and parts of his arms. As he panted heavily, Casey moved in closer to him. "Are you okay?" she asked him.

Akira nodded, but it took him a bit longer to speak. "Yeah. I'm alright."

"I end my turn."

(3500/3500-7000) [6/6:6]

Now it was Casey's turn, and she wondered what else to do. She looked at the Educated Charmcaster* that she had just drawn. She hadn't used it yet. Though it might be useful, she knew it wasn't time yet.

"I summon The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave!" The large, heavy, green dragon appeared on the field, in a relaxed nature, with its tail curled around its body. (1300/2000)

"I end my turn." she said. Once again, the cards on Hikazu's field caught her attention. Hikazu hadn't used Backfire yet. That card seemed to be important in his deck, and yet, it hadn't been used yet.

(3500/3500-7000) [7/7:7]

Akira drew his next card, Medusa Worm.

"I'll set a monster on the field, and use Des Lacooda's effect. I can flip it to draw an extra card, and then set him on the field once again." He drew another card, and added it to his hand.

"I end my turn."

(3500/3500-7000) [8/8:8]

"I'm impressed. So far, you've managed to keep our Life Points even. However, you Olympians aren't going to pull that off much longer. I summon Flamvell Baby!" The small fire sprite appeared on the field. (800/200)

"I tune him to Urquizas!" The sprite turned into a green ring that floated around Urquizas as he turned into six glowing stars.

_"Burn with the fires of a thousand suns! The ancient master of fire rises once again, like the a phoenix resurrects from its ashes! Synchro Summon! Ancient Flamvell Deity!"_

The monster that had appeared in their last duel against Hikazu appeared once again. It was a large hulking beast. It was very tall, and it was covered in armor, with fire escaping from all of the cracks. (2500/200)

"I use his effect. When he's summoned, I can remove from play cards in your graveyard equal to the number of cards in your hand." He pointed to Akira, causing Akira's duel disk to eject the only two cards in his graveyard. He put them inside one of his pockets.

"Next, he gets 200 attack points for each card removed this way." Deity's attack points rose to 2900.

"Attack his newly set monster!" Deity fired off a fireball at Akira's Medusa Worm, whose effect activated and caused it to fly out at Deity.

"When Medusa Worm is flipped, I can destroy your monster!" Akira stated, but Hikazu merely smiled.

"You really make things too easy, you know. I activate the speed spell, Sonic Buster! When I have four or more speed counters, I can select a monster on my field, and inflict half of its attack points as damage to you!" Slicer fired a fireball at Akira, once again causing his skin to burn.

"Next, I use Slicer's effect, skipping its attack in order to deal 500 points of damage!" Slicer fired another fireball at Akira, and this time, he could hold in pain no longer. He screamed as the flames began to fully eat through his sleeves and start burning his skin more severely.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn." he said with a malicious aura.

(3500/2100-7000) [9/9:9]

"Akira, are you okay!" Casey cried out.

"Yeah... I'm... Fine..." he managed to say between breaths. "Don't worry about me. Just keep dueling."

Though she didn't believe him, she did as he said. "I summon Educated Student Lv.3 in defense mode!" The warrior child appeared on the field, gripping his spellbook. (1500/100)

"I set a card and end my turn."

(3500/2100-7000) [10/10:10]

It was now Akira's turn. He was having a hard time drawing, as the attacks had burned his hands.

"Giant Rat, attack his Volcanic Slicer!" Both Casey and Hikazu were surprised, but Hikazu quickly regained his malicious aura as he realized there was more to this attack. Slicer bit the large rodent in the neck, and crushed it with its powerful jaw.

"Due to Giant Rat's effect, I can summon Criosphinx from my deck." Criosphinx, a monster with the body of a lion, the blue, muscular upper body of a human, and the blue head of a ram, appeared on the field. (1200/2400)

"Next, I sacrifice him to special summon Exxod, Master of the Guard!" The sky grew dark, and a strangely dark aura emerged from Akira. An immense rock creature pulled itself out of the ground, now overlooking them with its glowing red eyes. Its rocky skin had an earth brown color. Akira, Casey, and Hikazu were speechless at the sight. Though they were confused by the fact that it was only one card, they were sure that this was the legendary Exodia. (0/4000)

"What's the use of summoning that thing? It has no attack points!" shouted Hikazu.

"Exxod, the sealed form of the legendary Exodia, still has enough power to take you down! I use Des Lacooda's effect to draw a card!" The moment he took the card from his deck, Exxod roared, the shockwaves causing Hikazu to momentarily lose control of his Duel Runner.

"Whenever an Earth attribute monster is flip summoned, Exxod Inflicts you with a thousand points of damage! Next, I set a card, and a monster, on my field and end my turn."

(3500/1700-6000) [11/11:11]

"You're going to pay for that!"

He took one of the cards in his hand and set it on the duel disk. "I activate the speed spell, Fallen Synchron! When I have five or more speed counters, I can Synchro Summon a monster by removing from play the appropriate tuner monsters!"

_"Ruler of the flames of life! Rise and crush your enemies with your overwhelming power! Synchro Summon! Titanic Deity-Hyperion*!"_

The synchro monster that appeared this time was much like the other Titanic Deities. It was a tall man, wearing red and white robes, and held a staff with a glowing yellow orb at the top. He had fiery red hair much like Hikazu's. (3000/2300)

"Of course, Fallen Synchron's effect will remove it from play at the end of my turn. But first, let us move on to Hyperion's effects. At the cost of attacking, he can special summon a monster from my graveyard once per turn. Then, you take 200 points of damage times the level of the monster that was special summoned. Return, Flamvell Urquizas!" Urquizas returned to the field, and the glowing orb on Hyperion's staff fired a beam that hit Akira directly.

"Was that all? Such a waste of your monster's turn!" Akira stated, barely able to ignore the pain.

Hikazu smiled, pointing to Casey's monster Educated Student. "Slicer, attack!" The lava monster shot a fireball at the warrior child, causing him to be incinerated.

"I activate the trap card, Protective Whistle! With this card, when an 'Educated' monster is destroyed, I can special summon a level four or lower 'Educated' monster from my deck. It can't be destroyed by battle, but it will be removed from play on my second standby phase after it is summoned."

A new monster, one that she hadn't used yet, appeared on the field. It was young man, wearing finely cut black suit, wielding a sniper rifle. (1000/600)

"Educated Sharpshooter allows him to attack directly if there's any face-up Warrior-Type monsters on my field." she said, explaining his effect.

"Urquizas, destroy his hidden Des Lacooda!" A fireball exploded on contact with the hidden Des Lacooda, leaving no trace of the monster behind. This caused Exxod to roar once again, the shockwaves hitting Hikazu hard.

"Next, before I end my turn, I activate the trap card, Assault Mode Activate! This allows me to summon an '/Assault Mode' monster!"

Hyperion disappeared, and the earth shook once again, many times harder this time. A pillar of molten lava shot up into the sky, and took form of a creature that was almost twice as big as Exxod. It was made only of molten lava that constantly flowed. It had a thin body, and it seemed to be skeletal only. It had long wings, which were a mixture of fresh lava and a few lava rocks. Its forearms were large and bulky, and its claws were immensely long. Its face looked like it had the skull of a pterodactyl, right down to the long snout. It had a pair of long, twisted horns on its head, as well as a long tail made of molten lava and lava rocks. (4000/4000)

"This is Hyperion's assault mode*!" he stated with an evil laugh. "Don't worry, though. Since I can't attack, you'll have to wait until my next turn to see what he can do!"

(3500/500-5000) [12/12:12]

"Akira!" Casey cried out, worried about her friend.

"Don't worry about me, Casey. Just keep going with the duel!" he told her.

She looked at the card she drew next. It was Obnoxious Celtic Guard. She closed her eyes for a moment. _'Matsu, please help me win this duel!'_ she prayed.

"I summon Educated Charmcaster in defense mode!" A spellcaster, hiding her face with a veil while her body was covered by a brown robe, appeared on the field. (200/300)

"I activate her effect, allowing me to switch the battle position of a monster on your field!" Music filled the air, and Volcanic Slicer fell to its knees and defended itself from any incoming attacks.

"Sorry, but when you summon a monster, Hyperion hits you with a hundred points of damage times the level of the monster!" said Hikazu. Hyperion fired a couple of small fireballs at Casey. Though these didn't hit her very hard, the spots where they hit her stung.

"I tune Charmcaster and Sharpshooter!" As the monsters began to tune together, a bolt of lightning shot them down, causing momentary paralysis.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I activated the trap card, Discord. Until my opponent's 3rd end phase after this card's activation, none of us can synchro summon!" he explained.

With a scowl and a glare, Casey ended her turn.

(3300/500-5000) [12/12:12]

"Sorry Hikazu, but this duel is over!" stated Akira. "I activate the trap card, Inverse Universe! This switches the attack and defense points of all effect monsters on the field." Hyperion's attack points remained the same, while Exxod's attack points became 4000.

"I activate the counter trap, Flamvell Counter. By removing from play a Fire attribute monster in my graveyard with 200 defense points, I can negate and destroy your trap card!"

Akira's trap card shattered, and Exxod's attack points dropped back to zero.

"I flip summon Moai Interceptor Cannon!" The mechanized Easter Island head appeared on the field, causing Exxod to roar and inflict effect damage to Hikazu once again.

"I'll set Moai Interceptor Cannons once again, and set another monster on the field. I end my turn."

(3300/500-5000) [12/12:12]

"And it shall be your last!" declared Hikazu.

"I summon Fire Trooper!" As the skeletal soldier appeared on the field, a horrified look appeared on Casey's face. She knew what the monster could do, and what Hikazu was planning, and there was literally no way to stop it. (1000/1000)

"When this monster is summoned, I can send it to the graveyard to inflict a thousand points of damage to your Life Points!" Hikazu pointed at Akira, and the soldier charged towards him like a cannonball.

A look of horror overcame Akira's face as the creature rushed towards him. He had no way to stop it. He had lost, and now his friend would have to deal with this madman by herself! There was a loud explosion, taking Akira and his Duel Runner down.

"Kira!" Casey and Zeke shouted at the top of their lungs. They couldn't believe that their friend had actually been defeated. The very person that had defeated Kaiser, taken down easily by one of the lesser ranked Titans.

Hikazu rushed through the smoke with an insane smile on his face. "You see! This is the power of the Titans! You Olympians never stood a chance!"

"Why?" Casey shouted. "Why are you doing all this? Why did you join the Titans? Why must you guys fight!" She was angry. She had lost two close friends in a row already, all because they kept focusing more on protecting her than protecting themselves. She didn't want things to keep going this way. She needed help, and she had nowhere to turn.

"You want to know why? I'll show you why!" Hikazu replied. He tore off his sleeve, revealing the Japanese symbol for fire that had been burned onto his arm.

"You know what my poor excuse for a father did? He burned this symbol onto my arm when I was merely six years old. He was a sick old man that was part of some insane cult! He believed I was meant to rule Neo Domino! The bastard drove me insane with his stupid ramblings and beliefs! Made me personally attend the burning of many citizens that he believed were threats to his plans." he told her.

"The man was a monster, and I'm glad I killed him!" he stated harshly. "However, the poor bastard managed to leave a mark on me. I care nothing about his ideas or beliefs, but I wasn't able to separate myself from him quickly enough. I eventually found that I had a love of fire, and the things it could do. It wasn't long before I became a full-fledged arsonist! Working freelance for some of the duel gangs that were hidden inside Neo Domino. Though I hate to say it, I have to admit that maybe that insane old bastard did something right!" he finished with a cruel laugh.

Casey had no idea what to think. Hikazu had been through a lot, but it seemed as if he actually enjoyed what happened to him. It was as if all his rage and hate towards what his father did to him was a good thing.

"Urquizas, attack her dragon!" Urquizas destroyed The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave with a massive fireball, that released a heat that was of intolerable levels for the poor dragon. Urquizas' attack points rose to 2700.

"Slicer, destroy Charmcaster!" The poor tuner monster was burned to ashes by the vicious reptilian lava creature.

"Next, I activate Speed World 2's effect! By removing ten speed counters, I can destroy one card on your field!" He fell back considerably, and a bolt of lightining obliterated Casey's Big Shield Gardna.

"I activate the trap card, The Grave of Enkindling! This allows us to choose a monster in our graveyards, and special summon them to the field in defense mode, and they can't change their battle levels!"

Educated Charmcaster appeared on her field, while Titanic Deity-Hyperion appeared on Hikazu's field.

"Remember my monster's effect! When you normal or special summon a monster, you take damage equal to a hundred points of damage times the monster's level." Two small fireballs hit Casey, increasing the annoying burning sensation on her skin.

"Hyperion, destroy her Charmcaster!" Hyperion's attack points decreased to 2000 points, and then it shot a fireball at the small tuner monster, destroying her for the second time in the same turn.

"I end my turn."

(3100/0-5000) [12/0:2]

"What happened to your monster's attack points?" she asked, seeing how Hyperion now had 4000 attack points again.

"When Hyperion battles, its attack and defense points are halved." Hikazu explained.

Casey took a deep breath. With her next draw, her field would be empty, and she would have little way of defending herself. She put her hand over her locket. _'Please, Matsu. I need your help. Please help me get through this!'_

The top card in her deck began to glow brightly as she thought this. She couldn't believe it, but it was happening. For some reason, the card was glowing, and she felt a warm aura from it.

When she drew the card, she was surprised to see it. _'Prime Material Dragon? But, I've never even seen this card before! How did it get into my deck?'_ It was a mystery she would have to solve some other day, as she was glad to see it once she read the card's effect.

"I use the effect of Speed World 2! By giving up seven speed counters, I can draw one more card!" She fell back a bit, and drew another card.

"I activate the speed spell, Summon Speeder! When I have four or more speed counters, I can special summon a monster from my hand that is level four or lower. I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard!" As the battle-loving elf appeared on the field, Hyperion fired four small fireballs at Casey. (1400/1200)

"Next, I sacrifice him to summon Prime Material Dragon!" The elf was replaced by a strange, golden dragon. It seemed to have a strange form, as if it were made of something that could easily manipulate its form, and still be strong enough to protect it from attacks. (2400/2000)

"Hyperion's effect activates, and you take damage based on your monster's level!" Hyperion fired six fireballs at Casey, but to Hikazu's surprise, the dragon swallowed them, and then emitted a golden light over Casey, increasing her Life Points and healing some of her burns.

"As long as Prime Material Dragon is on the field, all effect damage is reversed into Life Point gain!" she told him.

The dragon opened its mouth, firing off a yellow beam of energy that blew the synchro monster into pieces.

"I end my turn."

(3300/0-5000) [4/0:3]

"I set a card on the field, and I'll have Urquizas destroy your monster!" Though the dragon tried its hardest, Urquizas was too powerful, turning the poor dragon into ash. Then, his attack points became 3000.

"Slicer, attack her directly!" The lave creature fired a fireball at Casey. She screamed as the fire burned through her body. It was immensely painful.

"Lucky for you, Hyperion can't attack directly, so I'll end my turn."

(1300/0-5000) [5/0:4]

Casey panted heavily. It hurt. A lot. But she had to keep fighting. For Akira's sake. She couldn't let his death be in vain. She had to win this. If there was anything she had learned, it was that miracles could happen, as her last move clearly proved.

She drew a card, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I activate the speed spell, Educated Draw! This allows me to take six cards from the top of my deck, add three to my hand, and then remove the rest from play."

She took the six cards, and looked through them. In those six, she had: Educated Spellcaster, Negate Attack, Turret Warrior, Speed Spell-Explosion, Speed Spell-Half Seize, and Speed Spell-High Speed Crash.

She took three of these and added them to her hand, then pocketed the rest.

"I set a card and a monster on the field, and end my turn."

(1300/0-5000) [6/0:5]

"Prepare to die! Urquizas, finish her off!" he commanded.

"I activate the counter trap, Negate Attack! This prevents you from attacking and ends your battle phase!" she said, her trap card activating quickly.

Hikazu growled, and then smirked. "So you want to prolong your miserable little existance, huh? I don't mind it. I end my turn, and I'll get you next time."

(1300/0-5000) [7/0:6]

Casey sighed, happy that her plan had worked. She drew a card and began her turn.

"I flip summon Educated Spellcaster!" The young spellcaster appeared on the field, causing three fireballs to hit Casey in the back. (1000/100)

"Next, his effect allows me to special summon a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my graveyard! Educated Student Lv. 3 returns to the field." As the warrior child appeared on the field, three more fireballs hit Casey in the back, causing her to cry out in pain. (1500/100)

"Now I tune them together!" Educated Spellcaster became three green rings that floated around Educated Student Lv.3 as he dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"A true warrior stands his ground! He charges to the rescue, to protect those he cares about! Synchro Summon! Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth!"_

The monster once known as Gaia the Fierce Knight appeared on the field, looking much stronger than ever, even wearing some upgraded armor and using upgraded weapons. (2600/800)

Hikazu smiled as he remembered that monster from their last duel, and how he took control of it to summon his own synchro monster. With the monster's appearance, six more fireballs hit Casey in the back, and this time, she couldn't help but to scream out in pain.

"Casey! Are you okay?" Zeke asked her.

She tried to nod, but couldn't. She gripped the locket in her hand, and remembered all the things that Matsu had done for her. How hard he had always fought for her. She had to be like him. She had to gain the strength to keep fighting now matter how hard things got.

"Set a card on the field, and order Gaia to attack Volcanic Slicer!" The mechanized warrior charged at the volcanic creature, impaling it with its lance.

"I end my turn." she said, panting.

(100/0-4200) [8/0:7]

"That was a good try, Casey, but you do realize that if I draw a Speed Spell, you lose, right?" he stated with a large grin on his face.

He drew a card, and the large grin quickly faded away. Casey was safe for now.

"Urquizas, finish her off!" Urquizas fired a massive fireball at Gaia, but the attack was interrupted by a small statue made out of scrap metal.

"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow allows me to negate one of your attacks, and then set it back on the field." Casey said, a smile on her face.

"Now you're starting to piss me off!" shouted Hikazu. "I end my turn." So far, this still wouldn't hinder his victory. If Casey attacks, he'll be able to use his Dimension Wall, and make her take all the damage. Hikazu was a powerful duelist whenever he actually put his mind into it.

(100/0-4200) [9/0:8]

"I activate the speed spell, High Speed Crash! I destroy The Dragon's Bead on my field, and one of your set cards!" she said.

There was a look of intense anger on Hikazu's face when he saw his Dimension Wall shatter into pieces. He was no longer out for victory. Now he'd be out for blood.

"I'll set a card on the field, and have Gaia destroy Hyperion!" The immense lava creature's attack points were cut in half, and it cried out in pain as Gaia impaled it with his lance and tore right through it.

"I end my turn." she stated with a satisfied smile.

(100/0-3600) [10/0:9]

"That's it, you little worm! I'm not going to play games with you anymore! I sacrifice your Gaia to special summon Volcanic Queen onto your field!"

One of Hikazu's fiercest burn monsters, Volacnic Queen, appeared on Casey's field. (2500/1200)

"Your Scarecrow may stop me from attacking, but come the end of your turn, you'll take enough effect damage to lose both this duel, and your life!"

Laughing, he ended his turn.

(100/0-3600) [11/0:10]

"I activate the continuous trap, Call of the Haunted. I choose to bring back Prime Material Dragon!" Hikazu cursed under his breath as he saw the resurrection of the only monster that would ruin his plans. (2400/2000)

"You love to use your burn deck to take others down, but you are about to see what I can really do with your monster! I use Speed World 2's effect, using ten speed counters to destroy your Urquizas!" She fell back, and a bolt of lightning destroyed Urquizas.

"Now you have no way to defend yourself! Volcanic Queen, attack him directly!" The dragon-like lava creature fired a powerful energy beam from its large mouth. However, when it reached Hikazu, it hit a barrier of fire.

"I activate the continuous trap, Firewall! As long as this card is on the field, I can just remove a Pyro-Type monster in my graveyard from play in order to negate your monster's attack!"

Casey went through the whole duel in her mind. Hikazu had only used seven Pyro-Type monsters throughout the whole duel. Two of them had been removed from play earlier, so he had five left. With the use of that card, he now had four. All she had to do was wear down his defense until it gave way.

"Prime Material Dragon, attack!" Though the dragon launched an attack, Firewall negated it and Hikazu's Life Points were safe.

"I end my turn, causing Volcanic Queen to inflict a thousand points of damage to my Life Points. Prime Material Dragon's effect turns that damage into Life Points." Volcanic Queen launched a giant fireball at Casey, but Prime Material Dragon absorbed it hit Casey with a glowing yellow light healed some of her wounds, as well as increased her Life Points.

(1100/0-3600) [2/0:11]

Casey chuckled as she heard Hikazu curse loudly when he drew.

"To keep Firewall on the field, I must pay 500 Life Points during each of my standby phases." he explained.

"I use the effect of Speed World 2, giving up ten speed counters to destroy your Call of the Haunted!" The trap card shattered, taking down Prime Material Dragon with it.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn." stated Hikazu, though his tone made Casey suspicious as to what he was planning. Whatever it was, she had to act fast.

(1100/0-3100) [3/0:2]

"I summon Masked Dragon in attack mode!" The small armored dragon appeared on the field. (1400/1100)

"I activate the continuous trap, Gravity Bind. With this, level four or higher monsters cannot attack!" said Hikazu.

Now she got it. He was planning on using Firewall to stall until he could inflict more burn damage.

"Masked Dragon, attack him directly!" The dragon charged at Hikazu, but the flaming shild stopped it in its tracks.

"I set a card and end my turn, and sacrifice my Masked Dragon to stop Volcanic Queen's effect!" Maksed Dragon turned into a small orb of light that was absorbed by Volcanic Queen.

(1100/0-3100) [4/0:3]

"I pay Firewall's cost to keep it on the field." he said, his Life Points dropping further.

"Next, I summon Flame Ruler!" A thin, dark-skinned man appeared on the field. He wore a red coat and had spiky blue hair. (1500/1600)

"I end my turn."

(1100/0-2600) [5/0:4]

Casey looked at the Mirage Dragon she just drew.

"I summon Mirage Dragon in attack mode." The ghostly dragon, whose golden aura was the only thing that allowed its presence to be known, appeared on the field. (1600/400)

"I end my turn, and sacrifice Mirage Dragon to protect my Life Points." Mirage Dragon also turned into a glowing yellow orb, and was devoured by Volcanic Queen.

(1100/0-2600) [6/0:5]

"Sorry, but you are about to lose this duel!" stated Hikazu.

"First, I pay Firewall's cost, and then I sacrifice Flame Ruler to summon Infernal Flame Emperor!" Flame Ruler disappeared into a towering column of fire. The flames dispersed, revealing a gargantuan creature made entirely of fire. If one had to make an accurate description of the creature, one could easily describe it as Theinen the Great Sphinx's twin brother. (2700/1600)

"Now I use his effect! By removing from play three Fire attribute monsters in my graveyard, I can destroy an equal amount of spells and traps on the field!" Both of Casey's traps, as well as Hikazu's Gravity Bind, began glowing fiercely.

"I chain it by activating the trap card, Spiritual Fire Art-Kurenai! By sacrificing Volcanic Queen, I can deal damage to your Life Points equal to her attack points! Lets see how much _you_ like getting burned!"

Volcanic Queen charged into Infernal Flame Emperor, resulting in a massive explosion. Casey had managed to win, but it was at the cost of her friend.

Zeke pulled up to her, intensely worried. "Are you okay, Casey? You managed to win."

Casey got off her Duel Runner, and was barely able to move forward two steps before she fell, Zeke being fast enough to catch her.

"Sorry about that... I wasn't strong enough to protect Akira. I was barely strong enough to protect myself." she whispered, sadness in her voice. The pain from the shadow duel was nothing compared to the pain of seeing her friend die before her very eyes, with her unable to do anything about. Just like she couldn't do anything about Blake. Just like she couldn't do anything about Matsu.

"Its alright." he assured her. "You won. We were all fighting for the same cause, and Akira knew what might happen if he dueled. He knew the risks, and he still took them. He tried his hardest, and you have to do the same. Don't worry about what you couldn't do for them. Instead, worry about what you _can_ do."

Casey was still feeling horrible. Her head was spinning, she felt nauseous, and she could feel an intense burning sensation on her skin. Yet, despite all this, she listened to Zeke's words. She put her hand over her locket and smiled.

"You know... Call me crazy, but when I drew Prime Material Dragon, I felt like Matsu was there with me." she said.

"What do you mean?" Zeke asked, confused by her words.

"I never put that card in my deck. But, before I drew, I asked Matsu to come help me win this duel. Then, the card started glowing, and that was when I drew that monster. I think, somehow, Matsu put it there to help me in this duel." she explained.

Zeke was quiet for a moment, then he chuckled and smiled. "That sounds pretty crazy, but at this point, I honestly think anything is possible." he told her. He helped her lie down on the ground, and went to where Hikazu was at before the explosion.

When he returned seconds later, he had a card in his hand. "I found this card where Hikazu was defeated. Its Mobius the Frost Monarch." he said, showing her the card.

"I wonder what this means..." she whispered, still feeling very weak.

"Well, seeing as how Hikazu's been defeated, I think its safe to say that you can rest here a while until you feel good enough to move." he instructed her. "Besides, its not as if we have anywhere else to go..."

**End of Chapter 31.

* * *

**

_Jihl, wanting to learn more about Matsu, asks him how he ended up with the Titans. Though Matsu wouldn't usually tell her, he feels that he has reached the point where none of this will matter. Don't miss this exciting chapter, where Matsu reveals everything. Secrets is up next!

* * *

_

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Educated Charmcaster - Monster Card

Type: Spellcaster/Tuner

Attribute: Earth

Level: 2

ATK: 200

DEF: 300

Effect: When this card is summoned, switch the battle position of a monster on your opponent's field.

* * *

Educated Sharpshooter - Monster Card

Type: Warrior

Attribute: Earth

Level: 3

ATK: 1000

DEF: 600

Effect: If there is at least one Warrior-Type monster on your field, other than this card, this card can attack your opponent directly.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Hyperion - Monster Card

Type: Pyro/Synchro

Attribute: Fire

Level: 10

ATK: 3000

DEF: 2300

Effect:

"1 Pyro-Type tuner + 1 or more non-tuner Fire attribute monsters"

Once per turn, you can special summon a Fire attribute monster from your graveyard to the field, and deal damage to your opponent equal to 200 points times the level of the monster. If you use this effect, this card cannot attack this turn.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Hyperion/Assault Mode - Monster Card

Type: Pyro

Attribute: Fire

Level: 11

ATK: 4000

DEF: 4000

Effect: This monster cannot attack your opponent directly. When this card battles, halve its attack and defense points until the end of the damage step. Whenever your opponent normal summons, flip summons, or special summons a monster, inflict 100 points of damage times the level of the summoned monster.

* * *

Speed Spell-Educated Draw - Spell Card

Type: Normal

Effect: Pick up the top six cards on your deck. Select three of them and add them to your hand. Remove the other three from play.


	32. Chapter 32: Secrets

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Secrets by One Republic

* * *

_

**Chapter 32: Secrets**

Jihl was sitting before Matsu. She stared at him intently, a worried look on her face. Matsu noticed this, and chuckled slightly.

"What's with that look? I didn't think I'd live to see the day where you stop being serious for even a moment." he asked her.

"I'm worried." she told him.

A slightly surprised look appeared on Matsu's face. "Worried? About what?"

"About you and Atlas." she said. "There's something about him. I just don't trust him."

Matsu shrugged. "Well, there's not really much I can do."

Jihl rolled her eyes.

"You know, I don't think I ever properly thanked you for taking care of me." he told her.

Jihl shook her head. "Its no problem. I didn't mind."

"Why is that?" he wondered. He wasn't fully sure why Jihl would ever agree to join the Titans. Despite her usually cold personality, he honestly doubted there was any malicious motive behind her actions. Even now, seeing her be this worried, he couldn't believe that there's even a slight chance she was a bad person.

"Because I..." she paused for a moment, unable to continue speaking. "Care about you." she managed to say in a whisper, turning her head to the side so Matsu wouldn't see her blush.

Matsu was quiet for a moment, and then smiled. "I see. I appreciate your help, you know. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now."

"I could say the same thing." she replied.

Now Matsu had begun to grow curious, and wanted to know what she meant by this. "Really? Why?"

"Because you saved me once." she said.

"It was five years ago. There was a really abusive duel gang in the satellite. They called themselves 'Team Golem'. They loved to bully people into doing what they said, and there wasn't anything they wouldn't do. I remember how they had kidnapped me to force my older brother, who was my only living relative, to pay a large ransom to get me back. The ransom was way too much for him to pay, and I knew that he wouldn't be able to pay it, no matter how hard he tried.

"I spent the next four days in captivity, beaten and starved to near-death. I wanted to die. I wondered when death would finally come for me. As I was finally about to give up the last bit of hope in my heart, I saw a couple of duelists sneak into the building. They were a young girl with black hair, and a young man with orange hair.

"They told me that they had heard about the situation, and had come to rescue me. I honestly couldn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true. And for a moment, it was. Team Golem had quickly learned of the intrusion, and attempted to stop them from freeing me. I remember watching, as the young girl led me out of the building through a secret entrance, how the young man stayed behind to duel them.

"After that, I had stayed at the young girl's home for two days, where she fed me and tried to take care of my wounds and bruises. As for the young man that had stayed behind, he showed up after those two days, and took me back to my brother. I was extremely grateful. He had saved me, and had actually stayed behind to fight off those people for me. I had actually wondered what happened to him... Imagine my surprise when I found out that he was the leader of the Titans, and that I would be able to help him." she told him. "Still, I never did quite learn of what exactly happened between then and now."

Matsu listened intently. It was actually amazing that the woman standing before him was the same girl he had rescued some years back. He could barely even recognize her. Though he found her story to be quite interesting, the last of it was what troubled him.

"You didn't know what happened after that, huh?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No, I didn't."

Matsu nodded. "Team Golem developed a grudge. Like you said, there was nothing they wouldn't do. A year after that, they killed two innocent people. Planted enough evidence to send my friend Casey to the Facility, leaving me alone in the Satellite while my closest friend rotted away in prison."

"I see." she said in a low voice. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Matsu shook his head. "Its fine. In fact, since you told me how you ended up with the Titans, I'll do you the favor of telling you my story..."

* * *

A group of three people were standing around a table in an old abandoned building. The place had a few computers, and it was extremely secured. The people using it didn't want any intruders.

"Alright, you guys know what to do, right?" asked the orange-haired boy.

"Yeah." replied the other two.

"Good. Zeke, make sure to stay on the lookout for anything suspicious. Once I hit that store, I want to know everything that'll be in my way." Zeke nodded.

"Okay. Akira, make sure that the computers work the way we want them to. When Security comes after me, I need you to be prepared to hack into their files. Also, make sure you guys can't be traced." Akira nodded also.

"Well, now that everyone knows what to do, let's begin! We can't afford to keep wasting anymore time."

The orange-haired boy was riding down the streets of Neo Domino in his Duel Runner, with six Sector Security officers right on his tail.

"Remember the plan, Matsu. Keep them focused on you until I'm done hacking their files." Akira reminded him through the transmitter.

"Alright." he replied.

* * *

"Matsuda Hideyoshi! This is Officer Yun of Sector Security speaking! Pull over before you do something you'll regret!" The officer stated through the megaphone.

"I'd like to see you try!" Matsu said, speeding up to increase the distance between them.

"You leave me no choice! Override suspect's Duel Runner!" he commanded, causing Matsu's Duel Runner to activate the Speed World field spell and lock him inside a duel against Officer Yun.

(4000-4000) [0-0]

"Well, Matsu. This is the fourth time in the past two weeks that I've caught you up to no good. Your charges have really been piling up lately, and this time, you won't be getting away! Catching you is going to get me a well-deserved promotion!" stated Officer Yun.

"I summon Assault Dog to the field!" A large doberman, covered with green armor and armed with a Gatling gun, appeared on the field. (1200/800)

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000) [1-1]

Matsu drew his sixth card and examined his hand. He had to pull off a convincing bluff. Dueling hard enough to try to escape, and then allowing yourself to get caught wouldn't be easy to do without raising suspicion. Fortunately, Officer Yun wasn't the smartest officer out there.

In his hand, he held: Masked Dragon, Vanguard of the Dragon, Sakuretsu Armor, Decoy Dragon, Hyozanryu, and Option Hunter.

"I start by setting two cards on the field, and summoning Masked Dragon in attack mode!" The red-skinned dragon appeared on the field, a white mask covering its face. (1400/1100)

"Attack his Assault Dog!" The dragon used its thick tail to attack, crushing the beast with its power.

"When Assault Dog is destroyed by battle, I can special summon another one from my deck!" Another of the armored Dobermans appeared on the field. (1200/800)

"I end my turn."

(4000-3800) [2-2]

"I start by summoning Torapart, in attack mode!" The small tuner, which looked like a toy-version of a witch, appeared on the field. (600/600)

"Now, I'll tune Torapart and Assault Dog!" Torapart turned into two green rings, and floated around Assault Dog, who dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Defender of truth and justice! Strike down your enemies with your sword! Synchro Summon! Goyo Guardian!"_

A warrior dressed like a traditional Kabuki actor appeared on the field. He had his face painted white, and was posed like a skilled fighter. (2800/2000)

"Goyo Guardian, attack his Masked Dragon!" Goyo Guardian wrapped Masked Dragon with his jutte, and began to pull on the rope to crush the dragon to pieces.

"I activate the trap card-"

"Don't even try it, kid!" said Officer Yun, cutting him off. "When Torapart is used to synchro summon, the monster that was synchro summoned prevents traps from being activated until after the end of the damage step."

With that, Masked Dragon shattered to pieces, and then reformed on Officer Yun's field. "Also, when Goyo Guardian destroys an opponent's monster by battle, he can summon it onto my field in defense mode."

"When Masked Dragon is destroyed by battle, I can special summon a Dragon-Type monster from my deck with 1500 attack points or less."

A heavy stone dragon appeared on the field. It was made of solid rock, allowing for a noticeable defense. (200/2000)

"You nevevr do cease to amaze, kid. I end my turn."

(2600-3800) [2-3]

Matsu drew Enchanted Javelin next. _'Doesn't really help me out much with his monster's added effect...'_

"I summon Vanguard of the Dragon!" A tall blue dragon appeared on the field, wielding a shield in one hand, and a spear in the other. (1700/1300)

"I activate his effect. By sending a Dragon-Type monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can increase his attack points by 300 points." He discarded one of the cards in his hand, and Vanguard glowed a bright blue color as his attack points rose to 2000 points.

"Matsu! Be careful!" This time, it was Zeke that was talking on the transmitter. He was on a nearby rooftop, monitoring the duel. "They've set up a roadblock two blocks ahead of you. Take the next left and escape through the alleyway!"

"Will do." he replied. As soon as he reached the alley, he took a sharp turn and headed through it, causing Officer Yun to curse as he chased after him.

"Damn it! Did he somehow find out about the roadblock!" the officer shouted out in anger.

"Vanguard, destroy Masked Dragon!" Vanguard truck his spear through the dragon, causing it to shatter into pieces.

"I end my turn."

(2600-3800) [3-4]

"Matsu, I'm almost done hacking into their files and alerting the higher-ups." stated Akira. "Hold out a bit longer."

"Kid, I like the way you duel, but even criminals like you need to face justice! My turn!" he shouted, drawing his next card.

"I summon Pursuit Chaser!" A machine, similar to the Duel Runners used by Sector Security, appeared on the field. It had searchlights and a pair of arms that were almost as large as the machine itself. (1400/600)

"I activate the trap card, Strike Slash! This increases the attack points of Goyo Guardian by 700 points!" Goyo Guardian glowed with a fierce red light as his attack points rose to 3500.

"Goyo Guardian, attack Golem Dragon!" Goyo Guardian threw the jutte with enough force to shatter through the stone dragon, causing it to rematerialize on Officer Yun's field.

"Also, thanks to the effect of Strike Slash, Goyo Guardian deals piercing damage, so you lose 1500 Life Points!"

Matsu groaned as his Life Points decreased even further.

"When a monster is destroyed by battle while in defense mode, Pursuit Chaser hits you with 500 points of damage!" he stated, causing Matsu's Life Points to reach a dangerous point.

"I end my turn. "

(600-3800) [3-5]

Officer Yun had managed to get in front of Matsu, which only meant that things were according to plan. He just hoped that Akira was able to keep up and work within the ever-decreasing time frame.

"My turn." he said as he drew a card.

"I summon Decoy Dragon in defense mode!" A cute baby dragon with light blue skin appeared on the field. (300/200)

"I switch Vanguard to defense mode and end my turn."

_'Akira, you'd better hurry up.'_

(600-3800) [4-6]

"Heh. Now you've really lost it! When I finish off those two, Pursuit Chaser's effect will guarantee me this win, and you'll finally be locked up, you Satellite Scum!" said the officer in a harsh tone.

"Goyo Guardian, attack Vanguard!" Goyo Guardian tied the jutte around the dragon and pulled him onto Officer Yun's field.

Then, Pursuit Chaser fired a bolt of lightning, decreasing Matsu's Life Points.

"I activate the trap card, Option Hunter! When a monster is destroyed by battle, I can gain Life Points equal to its original attack points."

"So you still cling to a desperate hope to win, huh? Sorry, but that won't be happening any time soon. Pursuit Chaser, destroy his Decoy Dragon!"

The machine attempted to charge into the small creature, but a larger dragon, with diamond-white skin and golden horns, appeared on the field and knocked the machine back. (2100/2800)

"When Decoy Dragon is attacked, I can use its effect to summon a level seven or higher Dragon-Type monster from my graveyard and switch the attack target to it, like Hyozanryu for example."

"But when did you-?" Then it hit him. When Matsu had summoned Vanguard, he was setting him up for this.

Officer Yun laughed. "This is great! I thought you were going easy on me or something, but I can see that I was wrong! That's good. After all, this duel will be the end of your career as a criminal, so I'd be disappointed if you didn't give it your best! I set a card and end my turn."

(1800-2400) [5-6]

"Gee, I'm glad I could entertain you!" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I sacrifice Decoy Dragon to summon Luster Dragon #2!" The small dragon disappeared, replaced by a large dragon with blue-green skin thats as hard as emeralds. (2400/1400)

"I activate the trap card, Power Bind! When you normal summon a monster, I can activate this card. It decreases your monster's attack points to zero, and it can't attack until your next standby phase!" shouted Officer Yun. "Next turn, you're dead!"

"Hyozanryu, attack his Pursuit Chaser!" The dragon impaled the machine with its diamond-hard tail, causing the machine to explode.

"I end my turn."

(1800-1700) [6-7]

"This is it, Matsuda! You're finished! Goyo Guardian, destroy his Luster Dragon!" Goyo Guardian's jutte impaled the emerald dragon, causing it to shatter as Matsu's Life Points fell to zero.

His Duel Runner came to a sudden stop, and before he could blink, he was surrounded by Sector Security.

"Finally. You've been a real pain in the ass, Matsu, but with your capture, I'm going to be receiving a well-deserved promotion!" stated Officer Yun.

"Officer Yun! You've got to see this! Its a report from Director Goodwin!" said one of the other officers, handing Officer Yun the paper.

Yun read through it quickly, smiling as he switched his gaze from the paper to Matsu. "Well, well... Seems like you've been up to a lot more criminal activities that I thought!"

* * *

In the building nearby, that was being used just a short while, there was total silence. There was no trace of any computers, any food, any drinks, or any life aside from that of the bugs that had made their home there. Indeed, it was as if no one was ever there...

* * *

Matsu was sitting on a chair inside the cold, grey interrogation room. He had been sitting there for quite a while now, awaiting to be questioned for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Even since he had been caught two weeks ago, he had spent almost all of his time in this room, questioned by the many different officers.

Just then, a tall, wide man entered the room. He was dressed in the traditional Sector Security uniform, and now that he was no longer riding a Duel Runner, one could see his blonde buzzcut hairstyle. The man sat down on a chair opposite of Matsu, a victorious expression on his face.

He placed a folder on the middle of the table. "You've been a very busy person." stated Yun.

"Is that a bad thing?" replied Matsu with sarcasm in his voice.

"Well, considering the fact that you've done a lot more in the past three years than just a bunch of random small crimes, I'd have to say that it is." He grabbed the folder and opened it, scanning over the contents. "We have here evidence that you were involved in the first degree of five murders, two charges of second-degree murder, drug sales, assault and battery, and even robbing stores, just to name a few. Almost all of these are cold cases from up to a little over three years ago. How did you manage to get away with all of these crimes?"

"Incompetent authorities like you, Officer Yun." he replied, as if stating a fact.

Yun slammed his large hands on the table, an angry expression on his face. However, Matsu was as unafraid as he had been since he'd been caught. He knew all of this was going according to plan, and he knew where it would end up.

"That's _Major_ Yun to you! After finally apprehending you, Director Goodwin was kind enough to give me quite the promotion. Especially since, after catching you, we ran your prints and found you connected to so many crimes that your incarceration will be able to give millions in funding for Sector Security. Thanks to you, the public finally believes that we are capable of cleaning up this city."

"Yeah. Shame they won't know the truth. That you guys really _can't_ do anything for yourselves."

In seconds, Matsu was on the floor of the room, and two other officers had entered the room and restrained Major Yun. They were followed by two more officers, who picked Matsu up.

"Seems I hit a nerve..." Matsu said, chuckling a bit as he wiped some of the blood from his left cheek.

The officers escorted him away to his cell, while Major Yun began thrashing about in the interrogation room as the other officers restrained him.

* * *

A young girl, with long black hair tied up in a ponytail, was standing before a Sector Security officer. He was handing her a box containing many of her things, sich as duel disk, cards, and a locket, among others.

As she shifted through the items in the box, she found two decks. One, she knew was hers, but the other one, she didn't recall ever having. "Excuse me, but I think you might have gotten confused. I only had one deck." she told him.

The officer, slightly confused, looked through the papers regarding her release. "Casey Miller... Items... Locket, duel disk, two decks... I see nothing strange here." he replied.

"I see..." she said, nodding thanks before she left the building.

Once outside, she sat down on a nearby bench. She wanted to know why she had suddenly been released from her sentence, and figured that the mysterious deck that had appeared among her stuff should provide a few clues.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the deck. At first glance, it seemed to be a normal dragon deck, but after looking through all of the cards, she recognized a few signature cards. Cards that belonged to a friend of hers. A friend she hadn't seen in years.

"Matsu wanted you to have them." said a nearby voice. She looked up and saw two other people.

One was a young man with silver hair, wearing mostly black clothing and gothic accessories. The other one was also a young man, though slightly younger than the one next to him, and close to her own age. He had short black hair, and wore a white t-shirt with a pair of blue jeans.

"Who are you?" she asked them.

"We are Matsu's friends." said one of them. "My name is Akira, or just Kira if you like. He's Azekial, or Zeke for short." he said, pointing to the person standing next to him.

"Why are you two here? And where's Matsu?"

Zeke shook his head, smiling. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

* * *

Less than a week later, in his cell in the Facility, Matsu was being held down by a couple of the guards. The Facility's doctor was treating his wounds. Stab wounds that had been inflicted upon him by some of the other inmates.

The Facility didn't have enough funds to afford all the necessary medicines needed to treat someone with his wounds. So the doctor had to improvise, without the merciful use of any type of painkiller.

The pain was intense enough that guards had to be there to hold him down. "Man, these guys were really rough! I wonder what this guy did to them." said one of the guards as he struggled to hold down Matsu.

"They say that he's the one who put them here. Apparently, this guy had a run-in with a duel gang known as 'Team Golem'. Must have really pissed them off." the other officer informed him.

* * *

Matsu was no longer in the Facility. He was now in a dark room inside a place known as the Aguerris Center, where the send the most dangerous of Satellite's criminals. He was sitting on the floor, knees to his chest, and his back to the wall.

An old man, whose identity was hidden by a black cloak, stood at the other end of the room. He had become a frequent visitor, though it wasn't out of care for the orange-haired boy's safety. It was out of recruitment.

"Are you sure you don't want to participate in this war?" the old man asked.

"Forget it, Payne. I already told you that I won't join you guys. I'd rather rot away in jail than join you guys and your team of power-hungry criminals." answered Matsu.

"They aren't _all_ criminals. Many of them are victims. All they want is a little bit of justice in this world, and winning this war will grant them that. Their most cherished desire, that which they want most, will come true if they win this war." Payne stated.

"I already said no. You can't change my mind."

Payne smiled, and handed him a card. It was the trap card, The Paths of Destiny. "Oh really? What if I told you about your destiny?"

Matsu looked at him with suspicion. "I already know my destiny. I was a Servant, one of the guardians of the Signers."

"Wrong." stated Payne. "That was only part of your destiny. You see, your friends have their destiny sealed. However, you are the only one free to choose your own path. You can either choose to fight for the Olympians, or for the Titans."

Matsu was about to speak, but Payne quickly cut him off. "Your path, affects their path. Should you choose to go with the Olympians, your friends will ultimately side with the Titans. However, should you go with the Titans, your friends will end up fighting alongside the Olympians."

"How would that benefit me in any way?" Matsu asked.

"Oh, I can think of a few ways. Besides, its not like we aren't willing to negotiate a few terms..."

* * *

Matsu was still in the same spot in the room. He would not move, and did not want to move.

"It must really hurt, huh? Having been betrayed in such a way." Payne stated harshly.

"It doesn't." Matsu replied, not sounding very convincing.

"Oh really? So it doesn't bother at all what Casey did? The girl you have loved for so long. The girl that you would do anything for. The reason why you are even here. You gave up everything for her, and this trial would allow Sector Security to get to the truth of these charges, and clear both your names. But happened?" he asked Matsu, but received no reply.

"I'll tell you what happened. Your friend Casey never showed! She decided it would be better to save her own skin than to come save you! You may love her, but it seems she doesn't love you enough to make the same sacrifices, or at least take the same risks, that you did for her!"

* * *

Matsu was on his knees, kneeling over a dead body. His hands trembled, now covered by blood from the body that lied before him. His upper body and left thigh were covered in blood from his own wounds. He was entering a state of shock. This was the first time he had ever killed anyone, and it was with his bare hands.

He could barely breathe. It was too much for him. He couldn't believe he had done it.

Payne, still looking like an old man wearing a black cloak that covered his entire body, stood next to him, smiling.

"I know you can't believe it." he said, as if reading Matsu's mind. "You killed the man. You didn't mean to, but you did it. What choice did you have? You couldn't let him live. Not after he tried to kill you."

"But it isn't right..." Matsu said in a low voice, barely able to speak.

"Of course it was. You know as well as I do that Kai Seraphim was a murderer, a tyrant. He didn't care for anyone else's life, much less his own. That's what really made him so dangerous. You saw the way he just attacked you without a second thought about the matter. He wanted to _kill_ you, and you had no other choice but to kill him instead. Though I agree that strangling is increadibly messy, at least in this case, it _did_ get the job done." Payne stated.

He was manipulating Matsu. Taking advantage of his vulnerable state to make him join the Titans. "Things aren't going to go very well for you from here, Matsu. Everything is only going to get worse. Once they find out what you've done, you'll wish that Kai had killed you."

Tears had slowly begun to fall down his cheeks. "No, this can't be happening. None of this could be happening. It _must_ be a dream. No. Its a nightmare! I-I-I have to wake up! I have to get out of here!"

Payne placed two contracts before him. One was to join the Titans. The other one was to join the Olympians. "You can choose one, and be free of all of this, provided your side wins the war. You should come with us, Matsu. Though you've rejected all of our proposals, our offer still stands. In fact, I'll even add to the deals we made with you. If you join us, I'll get rid of your memories. You won't have to remember anything about this. You won't remember killing Kai. You won't remember your friend's betrayal. You won't remember any of the horrible stuff that has occurred to you as a result of helping your friend Casey get out of the Facility."

"What will happen to my memories?" he asked, still staring at Kai's corpse as if in a trance.

"I'll store them inside a deck of cards for you. You like dragons, don't you? I'll give you a dragon deck, and as long as you don't lose them, you'll still be able to regain your memories." Payne explained.

* * *

"That's quite a story." Jihl said, amazed by the amount of stuff that Matsu had gone through.

"But you know, the Titans never told me why it was that you looked like Kaiser."

Matsu smirked. throwing back his head and closing his eyes. "Deal number one: I don't want my friends to know its me." he told her.

"Payne used his powers to change our appearances. I took on Kai's apperance, and his corpse took on mine. Made it easier to fool the folks over in Sector Security, and helped make sure that my friends didn't suspect anything."

"Then why aren't you still that way?" she wondered.

"I was defeated by Akira, remember? Though it wasn't an official shadow duel, the Titans don't look too kindly of leaders that are defeated. Part of my punishment was that my deals were no longer in effect. Basically, all of the deals I made with the Titans have been denied." he explained.

"Part of it? What was the other part of the punishent?"

Matsu shook his head, a serious look on his face. "You don't want to know..."

**End of Chapter 32.

* * *

**

_Matsu has revealed how he came to join with the Titans. Soon, it will be time for him to face the Olympians. But not yet! Once again, he's going to have to fight an opponent that simply refuses to die. Frost & Flames is coming up next!_


	33. Chapter 33: Frost & Flames

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Fire It Up by Thousand Foot Krutch

* * *

_

**Chapter 33: Frost & Flames**

Payne was in his office. It was a small room, with the amount of space that is usually taken up by a king-sized bed. Though there was no bed in here, there was a desk with a computer, and a file cabinet. This is where he kept all the information on the Titan Division here in Neo Domino and the Divisions all across the world. He had to be informed, after all.

His computer was on, a couple of windows with random information about the war and the people fighting it could be seen on them. However, he wasn't using the computer. He was sitting on the floor, his legs crossed, staring at the chess board. When he had first set it up, he deliberately left out a few pieces.

Now, as he stared at it, he viewed all the moves that could be made. On the right, there were only three black pieces left, two pawns and a rook. On the left, there were five pieces left, a bishop, a queen, a king, a knight, and a rook.

He took the white king and placed it a square ahead, right in front of a black pawn. He watched this for a few minutes, and then an evil smile appeared on his face. As if he knew more than he was letting on...

* * *

Jihl and Atlas were face to face, staring each other down. It was a battle of will, and neither side was willing to budge. Finally, Jihl broke eye contact, not wanting to waste anymore time and deciding to get to the point, even though she knew Atlas would see this as her backing down.

"Hikazu read your file, didn't he? Why did he see you as a much better ally than anyone else here?" she asked him.

"Because misinformation helps you get very far when it comes to war." he explained. "He didn't know anything, since I had changed the file."

With a seemingly sincere smile, though Jihl knew better and saw through this, he placed a folder in front of her. She grabbed it with caution, and slowly read the contents. After a couple of minutes of reading, she slammed down the folder and glared at him with even more suspicion.

"What?" he said, that distrustful smile still on his face. "Is there something wrong with it?"

"You bet there is!" she shouted out. "You stole my file! You changed information on it to make it fit you, and then you just handed it to him, didn't you?"

"Why, of course. Didn't you think there was a reason why you weren't revealed to the rest of the group? Matsu and I are the ones who truly run this place. If you didn't trust me from the beginning, you shouldn't have taken my word for it and just asked others why it is that you weren't revealed to the group as soon as you came."

Jihl was extremely irritated. Atlas was right, and she knew that was true. If she really didn't trust him, she should have asked Payne about it. Then again, its not as if she had as much distrust then as she did now. Also, she was there to take care of Matsu. Its not as if she could just stop taking care of him to pursue such knowledge. She cared way too much about him to allow herself to do something that could harm him.

"Mark my words, Atlas. You need to be on your guard from this point on." she threatened him.

"Hard to believe you can do anything to me when you don't even know my name." he replied, his distrustful smile once again on his face.

* * *

Matsu was on the top of one of the few remaining buildings in Neo Domino. Almost the entire city had been torn apart by the fighting. There was still a large dead tree in the middle of the town, most of the other buildings were either in ruins or had been burned down, and the ground had been broken apart in some parts of town, revealing a deep chasm in which one could see some lava at the very end.

He had known this from the beginning. No matter how hard he tried to overlook this and move on, seeing the destruction that all the fighting had caused made it many times harder. Even worse than that, he was starting to reminisce. He was remembering all the times he had with Casey back when htey were younger and in the Satellite. He was remembering how he met Zeke and Akira, and how they helped stage Casey's release from prison.

There was the sound of a door opening, and Matsu looked back to see a familiar face before him. The man was barely able to stand, and his clothes had been ripped and torn in many parts. However, the flaming red hair and angry expression on his face was the same as ever.

"Hikazu. What are you doing here? I thought you were defeated!" he explained, surprised to see him.

"Of course you did! You wanted to make sure of that, didn't you? I know it was you who gave the girl that card. I remember her duels! She's never used Prime Material Dragon! You planted it there so that she could use it against me!" he stated.

Matsu smirked. "Well, you managed to figure that out. However, I'm still wondering why you aren't dead. Last I checked, she kicked your ass in that duel."

Hikazu chuckled. "You know how, in a Riding Duel, getting off the Duel Runner ends the duel? Even in a shadow game, jumping off the Duel Runner at the last minute voids the duel. True, I wasn't able to defeat the girl, but I'll get to her after I take care of you! You've been a pain in my neck for way too long now!"

"You sure are obsessed, aren't you? If it makes you feel any better, I'll kill you myself." stated Matsu.

"Of course I'm obsessed! I'm destined for greatness! I'm supposed to lead this war! I'm supposed to tear down the Olympians! I was born better! I was born to _be_ better! You are just a lousy punk who thought he was better than me! But after I defeat you, you'll see how _I_ am destined to be better than you!" growled Hikazu, his anger rising to its highest levels.

"I've already read your file, Kaiser! I know that you are Kai Seraphim! I know what you've done! You're nothing but a two-bit murderer who thinks he's above everyone else! However, you barely even know what's going on around you!"

"Really?" Matsu asked. "Seems to me that _you're_ the one who doesn't know anything. My name is Matsuda Hideyoshi."

A surprised look appeared on Hikazu's face. Matsuda Hideyoshi. That was the name he had read in the file. The cellmate that Kaiser killed. "You're lying! He's dead!"

"Not true. The only one that died that day was Kai. I killed him, though it was in self-defense. You see, that was the day that I joined the Titans, and on that day, Payne used his powers to change our appearances. So, people believed that Kai had committed the murder, when in reality, he was the victim. You'd know that if Atlas hadn't been pulling your strings since day one and handed you a fake file." he told him.

"Chances are, if you saw his file, it was probably fake as well. I wouldn't trust him, and you shouldn't have either. Didn't you find it strange that he agreed to help you try and overthrow me so quickly? You have been used this whole time, Hikazu. You knew what he wanted you to know, and nothing more."

"Be quiet! I refuse to listen to you! I don't care who the fuck you are! Whether you are Matsuda or Kaiser, I'll kill you! Then I'll kill the girl as well! I'll win this whole war myself! I'll rule this whole planet by myself! I'll be damned if I let you get in my way!" Hikazu activated his duel disk, proof enough that he was serious about this battle.

Matsu activated his duel disk as well, officially starting off the duel.

(4000-4000)

"Since you insist on this battle, I'll take the first turn." stated Matsu, drawing his sixth card and adding it to his hand.

He currently held: Moray of Greed, Salvage, Cold Enchanter, Blizzard Curtain, Dewdark of the Ice Barrier, and Permafrost*.

"I start by activating the field spell, Permafrost!"

There was a bright flash of light, and for a moment, no one could see. When Hikazu slowly opened his eyes, he saw a completely different world. It was closed in, the whole town that is. Everything was covered by thick layers of ice and a thin layer of snow.

He could no longer see the sky. Instead, he saw an upside-down version of the town in its current state, made entirely of ice crystals. The wind was cold and painful, able to cut through his skin every time it blew.

* * *

Casey, who was sitting against her Duel Runner in the same spot where she had defeated Hikazu, stared with amazement and caution at the changed city. Zeke, who was standing next to her, was speechless, but most of all, he was suspicious.

"What do you think is going on?" she asked.

"A duel." he stated, sure that his statement was correct. "The question is, who's dueling. And why?"

Just then, the monitors on their Duel Runners began to crackle. They approached the monitor on Excelion, due to it being the closest, and were able to see a live feed of the duel. To their disappointment, however, the video was too grainy for them to make out any of the details of the duelists. Fortunately for them, they could still see well enough to determined the moves the duelists were making.

* * *

"The field spell, Permafrost, has three effects. First, it places an ice counter on every monster on the field whenever a monster is summoned. Second, if a monster is destroyed, all of its ice counters are added to the field spell. Third, any monster with an ice counter is unable to use its effect unless its owner sends a card from his hand to the graveyard." he explained.

"I summon Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!" A yellow-haired ninja wearing purple clothes appeared on the field, looking small, scrawny, and barely able to pose a threat. (1200/800)

A snowflake suddenly appeared and began to float around him.

"Next, I set one card on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Hikazu drew his sixth card, an angry look in his eyes.

"I summon Volcanic Rocket!" The pterodactyl-like lava creature appeared on the field, its flames able to resist the sub-zero temperatures. (1900/1400)

A snowflake appeared and floated around the volcanic creature, while a second did the same to Dewdark.

"When this card is summoned, I can add a 'Blaze Accelerator' from my deck to my hand." A card slid out from his deck, and he added it to his hand. However, due to Permafrost's effect, he had to discard a card from his hand.

"Volcanic Rocket, destroy his Dewdark!" The volcanic creature opened its mouth wide, releasing a fireball that would explode upon contact with its target.

"I activate the trap card, Blizzard Curtain!" The trap card activated, causing Dewdark to change to defense mode. The fireball exploded when it hit him, leaving nothing in its wake.

"When a monster is selected as an attack target, I can change its battle position. If it gets the destroyed, then the monster that destroyed it gains an ice counter." Matsu explained, a second snowflake appearing on Volcanic Rocket as the two snowflakes that surrounded Dewdark floated up to the sky.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn." declared Hikazu.

(4000-4000)

Matsu drew Mother Grizzly and added the card to his hand.

"I summon Cold Enchanter!" A younger version of Ice Master appeared on the field, wearing light blue robes, and wielding a staff with a snowflake at one end. (1600/1200)

A snowflake appeared around her, while a third appeared around Volcanic Rocket.

"I discard a card from my hand," He discarded Mother Grizzly from his hand. "to use her effect. She gains three hundred attack points for each ice counter on the field. With two on the field spell, three on your monster, and one on her, there's a total of six ice counters on the field." The snowflake on Cold Enchanter's staff glowed brightly, increasing her attack points to 3400.

"Attack his Volcanic Rocket!" Matsu commanded.

"I don't think so! I activate the continuous trap, Nightmare Wheel! This prevents your monster from attacking or changing its battle position! And during each of my standby phases, you'll take five hundred points of damage!" shouted Hikazu, effectively countering Matsu's move. A large demonic wheel appeared on top of Cold Enchanter, causing her to use up all her strength just to keep it from crushing her.

"I see now why you activated this field spell in particular. There were so many choices out there that were better, but not for this situation." said Hikazu. "Once again, in order to defeat me, you decided to use my deck against me! As long as this field spell is on the field, I can't use monster effects to inflict burn damage without destroying my hand. Not only that, but it also powers up your own monsters every time I summon a monster. I have to admit, it may be creative, but that kind of trick will only work on me once!"

Matsu smirked. "Was it that easy to see through my plan? And here I thought that your second defeat by my hands should be as humiliating as the first."

"Not on your life! This battle should be fought with all of our might! I can think of no better humiliation than to watch you fight with your full strength and fall by _my_ hands!" Hikazu replied.

"In that case, I'll make a fresh start. I activate the spell card, Salvage, taking two Water attribute monsters from my graveyard and adding them to my hand." He took his Mother Grizzly and Dewdark from his graveyard slot. "Next, I activate the spell card, Moray of Greed. This allows me to return two Water attribute monsters from my hand to my deck, and draw three cards."

His deck was automatically shuffled, and he drew three cards.

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Hikazu drew his next card with pleasure, as it would activate Nightmare Wheel's effect.

The wheel began spinning rapidly, releasing an evil energy that zapped Matsu.

He cried out in pain, falling to his knees as he clutched his chest, barely able to breathe.

Hikazu watched him with interest, intrigued by what happened. "What's this? Did you take physical damage? What happened to you? Did you lose your invincibility? Last I checked, we don't take that kind of damage from these duels."

Matsu got up, slightly unable to keep his balance. "Shut up."

"What? The damage that you took proves that you aren't invincible. Is that why you didn't want me to use burn damage? Were you afraid of taking damage? My, my, you've really fallen, haven't you, Kaiser?"

Matsu shot him a glare. "Just be quiet and continue your turn."

"Oh, I'll be enjoying this..." Hikazu said mischievously. "I activate the continuous spell, Blaze Accelerator. This allows me to discard a Pyro-Type monster from my hand with five hundred attack points or less. In turn, I can destroy a monster on your field." The machine set it's sights on Cold Enchanter. After locking on to her, it fired a red beam that incinerated the spellcaster.

Then, a fireball shot out from Hikazu's duel disk and hit Matsu once again, knocking him back a couple of feet. "When Volcanic Scattershot is sent to the graveyard, you take five hundred points of damage." Hikazu explained, an evil smile appearing on his face.

Matsu cried out in pain once more, but he refused to go down this time. "Just continue with your turn." he said sternly.

"Sadly, I can't attack. However, I can still summon a monster. Like Fire Trooper!" The skeletal warrior appeared on the field, its skull head on fire. (1000/1000)

An ice counter appeared on the new monster, while a fourth one appeared on Volcanic Rocket. Meanwhile, the ice counter on Cold Enchanter had floated up into the sky.

"Since your ice counters negate its effect, I choose not to discard a card and end my turn."

(3000-4000)

Matsu drew his next card, the cold temperatures allowing him to use his right hand, despite the burns it had just received.

"I summon Mother Grizzly in attack mode!" The large blue bear appeared on the field, growly ferociously at Hikazu. (1400/1400)

An ice counter appeared on her, while a second counter appeared on Fire Trooper and a fifth one appeared on Volcanic Rocket.

"Attack his Fire Trooper!" The beast tore the skeletal warrior to shreds with its powerful sharp claws. The counters that were on Fire Trooper soon made their way to the others.

"I end my turn."

(3000-3600)

"Unable to do anything more, I see. Glad to know I have you on the ropes, Kaiser."

Matsu raised an eyebrow. "Why do you still call me 'Kaiser' if you already know my real name is 'Matsu'?" he asked him.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are, and always have been, Kaiser. So I'll call you that until I've finally defeated you." Hikazu replied, drawing his next card.

"I send my Blaze Accelerator to the graveyard to activate my Tri-Blaze Accelerator!" The machine shattered, and the pieces reformed into a similar machine, though this one had three missile launchers rather than a laser.

"Next, I sacrifice it to special summon Volcanic Doomfire!" The machine exploded, and a low rumbling was heard. A large creature appeared on the field. It was the same creature that Hikazu summoned against Trent. (3000/1800)

A sixth counter appeared on Volcanic Rocket, while a second one appeared on Mother Grizzly and one appeared on Doomfire.

"Doomfire, destroy Mother Grizzly!" The creature did as commanded, releasing a fiery breath upon Mother Grizzly, causing her to be destroyed. The ice counters on her now floated up into the sky.

"I discard a card from my hand to activate Mother Grizzly's effect, summoning Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier." A warrior dressed in red and blue robes appeared on the field, sitting on the ground with his legs crossed and his palms together. (1500/1000)

An ice counter appeared on each monster on the field.

"Rocket, destroy his monster!" The volcanic creature launched a fireball at Pilgrim, who responded by creating a powerful shield of light to block the attack. However, the force of the impact was strong enough to damage Matsu in the process.

"Pilgrim can't be destroyed by battle by monsters with nineteen-hundred attack points or more."

"But you still take battle damage." stated Hikazu. "I end my turn."

(1000-3600)

Matsu drew his next card. He had lost quite a few Life Points in the last turn, but he was confident he could turn things around.

"I summon Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier!" The aqua tuner appeared on the field, wielding his frozen weapon. (1300/0)

Once again, an ice counter appeared on each monster on the field.

"A tuner monster, huh? Sorry, but I won't allow it! I activate the continuous trap, Discord! Until my third end phase after activating this, neither one of us can Synchro Summon!" stated Hikazu.

"In which case, I switch Pilgrim to defense mode and activate Cryomancer's effect by discarding a card from my hand. Level four or higher monsters cannot attack!" Matsu countered.

"I end my turn."

(1000-3600)

Hikazu began his turn. "Well, you've certainly thought this whole thing through, huh? In case you were unable to Synchro Summon, you made sure that you had a good defense. I guess I need to start thinking as far ahead as you do, Kai."

He looked at the card he drew and then set it on the disk. "I set a card and end my turn."

(1000-3600)

Matsu drew a card and quickly made his move.

"I activate the spell card, Medallion of the Ice Barrier. This allows me to take an 'Ice Barrier' monster from my deck and add it to my hand." A card slid out from his deck, and he added it to his hand.

"Next, I summon Sacred Spirit of the Ice Barrier in defense mode!" An old man in blue robes, which could lead one to believe that the man was either a religious or political leader, appeared on the field. (1600/1200)

An ice counter appeared on the monster on the field.

"I discard a card from my hand to use his effect. As long as he's on the field alongside another 'Ice Barrier' monster, I can change his usual effect into one that allows me to return a monster on your field to your hand!" Doomfire screeched as Spirit's effect caused it to turn into a small orb of light that floated back to its owner's hand.

"You'll pay for that..." threatened Hikazu.

"I end my turn."

(1000-3600)

Hikazu almost tore the card in two when he pulled it out of the deck. Losing his Volcanic Doomfire caused much more trouble than Matsu might have believed. Truth be told, he was actually waiting for a tuner monster so that he could summon his Titanic Deity. However, Matsu drawing the cards needed to Synchro Summon caused him to use Discord as a temporary stall.

"I summon UFO Turtle to the field in defense mode!" The alien turtle appeared on the field, quickly withdrawing into its metal shell. (1400/1200)

Needless to say, the effect of the field spell added another counter to each monster on the field.

"I end my turn."

(1000-3600)

Matsu sighed as he drew his next card. It would be extremely useful, though not at this moment.

"Unfortunately, I can do nothing more, so I'll have to pass."

(1000-3600)

Hikazu smiled as he watched Matsu end his turn so quickly. Though it was true that he couldn't do much either at the moment, he was glad to know that he had effectively prevented Matsu from turning things around.

He drew a card and smiled evilly before placing it on the disk. "I set a card and end my turn."

Just then, his Discord shattered into pieces and disappeared from the field. "Since its the end of my third turn after activating this, Discord gets destroyed and we are allowed to Synchro Summon once again."

(1000-3600)

Matsu smiled as he drew his next card. "That's good to know!"

"First, I use the spell card Salvage! Remember what this does?" he asked rhetorically as he took two cards from his graveyard and added them to his hand. "Second, I use the spell card, Moray of Greed!" He took those two cards and put them in his deck. The deck was automatically shuffled and he took three cards from the top.

"Third, I tune my Cryomancer with Pilgrim and Spirit!" Cryomancer turned into two green rings that revolved around Pilgrim and Spirit, each one dissolving into four glowing stars. (2+4+4)

_"Feel the power of my isolation! Let the eternal coldness of my heart take shape! Synchro Summon! Freeze, Titanic Deity-Oceanus*!"_

What appeared on the field was a man, of medium height and build. He had light blue skin, with slightly transparent scales all over his body. He held a staff made of ice with a snowflake at its tip, just like many of the monsters in Matsu's deck. His blue robes were long and covered him from head to toe, except for the hood, which was only able to cover the upper half of his face. (3500/1750)

"When this card is summoned, I can remove from play from your graveyard a number of cards equal to the number of cards on your field." Four cards were ejected from Hikazu's graveyard slot, and he growled as he saw that one of them was his Volcanic Counter.

"Now, Oceanus, destroy his Volcanic Rocket!" Oceanus raised up his staff, summoning a large grey cloud to the field. The cloud hovered over their heads, and the moment a thundering sound was heard, a flurry of hailstones fell upon Volcanic Rocket, destroying it.

The ones that bounced off the ground didn't hesitate to target Hikazu, inflicting damage.

"I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(1000-2000)

Hikazu's invincibility was still in effect. Due to the shadow duel, he could still feel the pain of the attack, but unlike Matsu, the wounds that manifested on his body were mostly for show.

"I admit, that was a good move. However, you won't be so lucky. I activate the continuous trap, Cursed Prison! This allows me to special summon a monster from my Extra Deck in defense position, though I am forced to negate its effect."

Inside the demonic, upside-down birdcage, a familiar figure appeared. It was Hikazu's Titanic Deity, Hyperion. (3000/2300)

As soon as Hyperion and Oceanus locked eyes, a fierce wind began to blow. It was a meeting thousands of years in the making. Oceanus, the oldest of the Titan offspring, and his younger brother, Hyperion. They had been rivals for as long as either could remember, but this was the first time they had ever fought each other in such a decisive battle. Now, it was time to settle this.

"Let's take this a step further! I activate my trap card, Assault Mode Activate! Prepare to face Hyperion's full power!"

Hyperion glowed fiercely, causing a powerful concentration of energy to explode and destroy the cage the trapped him. A screeching sound was heard, and the molten giant that was Hyperion's assault form was quickly seen. (4000/4000)

"And thanks to your field spell, his attack reducing effect is negated! Hyperion, destroy Oceanus!"

* * *

Casey and Zeke looked out into the horizon with disbelief. The large creature that was standing before a tall building was familiar. _Too_ familiar.

"Is-Isn't that... Hikazu's monster?" Casey stuttered out.

"It _is_! But-but how? You just defeated him!" Zeke replied, his mouth wide open.

The surprises didn't stop there, however. The ground began to shake, and they saw a beam of light fly out of the ground and into the sky.

A large skeletal arm flew out of the ground, They saw as the arm pulled out the rest of its body. The creature rivaled Hyperion in height, and they looked similar. They were both skeletal creatures, but where Hyperion had the skull of a pterodactyl, this new creature, made only of clear ice, had a human-like skull, with large spikes of ice on its head and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. Though it didn't have any wings, it had a long, thick tail with ice spikes all around it.

"Is _that_ a Titanic Deity as well?" Zeke wondered, the similarities between the two monsters putting the thought in his head.

"Possibly, but it wouldn't make sense..." Casey replied. "Why would the Titans be fighting each other?"

"Something tells me that if they _are_ fighting each other, then something very troubling is going on..." Zeke figured.

* * *

"Oceanus has an assault mode as well, remember?" Matsu said, pointing to the monster that stood behind him. The creature breathed a thick mist as it made eye contact with Hyperion. (4300/500)

"You still want to attack?" Matsu said, taunting him.

"You'll get yours soon enough, Kaiser. I end my turn."

(1000-2000)

Matsu had frozen were he stood the moment he looked at the card he drew. His eyes were wide in surprise, and Hikazu looked at him with curiosity.

_'I wonder what he drew to make him be like that...'_ thought Hikazu as he observed the situation.

He shook his head as he came out of his trance, and placed the card on his disk. His expression had changed. He was much more serious than before. "I set a card on the field, and I'll have Oceanus destroy Hyperion!"

Chains rose from the ground and tied down Oceanus, preventing from moving. Then, they pulled harder, causing him to kneel down as his attack points decreased to 3600. "I activate the continuous trap, Shadow Spell. This decreases your monster's attack by seven hundred points and prevents it from attacking or changing its battle position."

Though Hikazu managed to gain the upper hand, the expression on Matsu's face didn't change. "I end my turn."

(1000-2000)

Hikazu smiled when he looked at the card he had drawn. "Prepare to face defeat, Kaiser! I activate the quickplay spell, Rush Recklessly! This increases Hyperion's attack points by seven hundred points."

Flames appeared all over Hyperion's molten body, causing his attack points to rise to 4700.

"Hyperion, finish him!" Hikazu commanded.

Hyperion created a ring of fire that surrounded them all. He opened his mouth, and began to charge a beam of red-hot temperatures.

"I activate the trap card, The Paths of Destiny! Here's how things will go. You and I will both flip a coin. Heads, and the tosser gains two-thousand Life Points. Tails, and the tosser will lose that many Life Points."

"You must be desperate! Are you honestly telling me that you want to determine the outcome of this entire duel on a coin toss?" Hikazu exclaimed.

"Are you afraid that you'll lose?" Matsu asked, obviously hitting a nerve.

"Not even! Go on ahead! Take your chances, and when you lose, I'll be sure to enjoy the moment!"

Matsu nodded, and flipped a coin. It landed on the floor, and the result was heads. Matsu glowed with a bright light as his Life Points increased to 3000. "Your turn."

Hikazu took the coin and flipped it. There was a moment of complete silence when the coin landed on tails.

The sillence was broken by Oceanus' screech. The frozen creature opened its mouth, and fired a volley of icicles at Hikazu. A series of explosions occured, the icicles followed by the explosion of Hyperion. A powerful burst of energy was released, knocking down a few of the buildings that still remained standing.

Matsu stood there alone, looking at the card that had helped him obtain victory. "Its your turn now, Casey. I hope you're up to the challenge, because I doubt _I_ am..."

**End of Chapter 33.

* * *

**

_Next, Casey is going to find out that the man she loved isn't dead at all. Worse yet, he's her enemy. If she loses, the world may be destroyed, but how can she win when she knows it'll result in Matsu's death? Its a tough decision to make, and she'll have to use every ounce of her strength to do it. Be on the lookout for: Whiteout.

* * *

_

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Permafrost - Spell Card

Type: Field

Effect: As long as this card remains on the field, every time a monster is summoned, place an ice counter on each monster on the field. Any monster with an ice counter cannot activate its effect unless its controller discards a card from his/her hand. If a monster with an ice counter(s) is destroyed, place the ice counter(s) that was on that monster on this card.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Oceanus - Monster Card

Type: Aqua/Synchro

Attribute: Water

Level: 10

ATK: 3500

DEF: 1750

Effect: When this card is summoned, you can remove from play cards in your opponent's graveyard equal to the number of cards on your opponent's field.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Oceanus/Assault Mode - Monster Card

Type: Aqua

Attribute: Water

Level: 11

ATK: 4300

DEF: 500

Effect: As long as this card is on the field, decrease the attack points of all Fire attribute monsters by 400 points. If this card battles, you can discard a card from your hand to negate the effect of the monster that it battles.


	34. Chapter 34: Whiteout

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: A little faster by There For Tomorrow_

* * *

**Chapter 34: Whiteout**

Payne looked at the chess board carefully. He seemed to be in a sort of trance, not taking his eyes off the board for anything.

After a few minutes, he looked at the white king he had moved just a few hours ago. The black pawn that was before it was nowhere near the board. A devious smile appeared on his face as he placed the white king on a square on its left. Now, the king stood before the queen.

"Just a little more..." he whispered to himself, letting a low cackling laugh escape his lips.

* * *

Matsu and Atlas stared each other down, intense fury in Matsu's eyes.

"Got hurt from your battle against Hikazu, I see. I thought you would have beaten him faster than that." Atlas commented.

"I thought Hikazu was dead. I guess this just isn't our day." he replied.

"I guess so. I wonder how Hikazu managed to survive that battle..." Atlas said, trailing off.

"I wonder the same thing..." Matsu replied with suspicion.

Atlas smirked. "Are you trying to accuse me of something?"

"Yes. You and I know how he came across that information concerning Shadow Turbo Duels."

"You honestly believe I know stuff like that?" Atlas asked him.

"Yes." he stated harshly. "If there's one thing I know, its that you know more than you're letting us believe."

Atlas chuckled. "You think you've got everything figured out, don't you? You're just like the girl. She keeps thinking that you're some kind of hero and that I'm some kind of villain. Sheesh. Like we aren't on the same side here."

Matsu looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "She does, huh? Interesting..."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Atlas asked, somewhat offended. "Are you actually telling me that you think the same thing she does?"

"Think? Of course not. I already _know_ we aren't on the same side. I'm just surprised at how she came to that reasoning." Matsu replied.

"Her reasoning?" Atlas wondered.

"Yeah. After all, I already know that we aren't on the same side. However, chances are that she doesn't know as much as we do to know why that really is." Matsu explained.

"Well, if you must insist on that argument, I should do something to prove it. I think I'll pay Jihl a visit and see if I can confirm her theory." Atlas stated, a devilish smile upon his lips.

Upon seconds of saying that, Atlas felt the cold steel of the barrel of Matsu's Luger. With a short chuckle, Atlas spoke up. "Really? You think your little toy can stop me? Keep in mind which one of us is immortal, and which one of us I can kill in no time flat."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe its the thought that counts?" Matsu asked, a smile on his face.

"I guess it has to be that way with you." Atlas replied. "After all, that's the way its always been. You've always had the skill to be something great, but your feelings made you weak. Trust me when I say that you were right. I _do_ know a lot more than I'm letting you guys believe. I'll make sure that _everyone_ gets the message!"

With that final thought, the trigger was pulled. The echo bounced off the empty halls and resonated across the entire building. Even a few blocks away, a low rumble could be heard.

* * *

Casey awoke to complete silence and isolation.

She had passed out earlier, and instead of being with Zeke, she was now in the other version of Neo Domino, the one that floated upside down. She could tell, as the buildings weren't covered with ice. They were made of it.

"Is this a dream?" she wondered. The place may have been made of ice, but it wasn't cold at all. She couldn't feel any temperature at all. Not only that, but when she looked up, all she could see was a bunch of grey clouds covering the sky.

"Strange." she muttered. If this was indeed the place she had seen a while before she had passed out, she should have been able to see the real Neo Domino in the sky.

A sudden blizzard had decreased her visibility as she walked through the frozen streets of Neo Domino's ice-cold twin. She had no idea how she had gotten there, but if she was with Zeke before she passed out, that must have meant that something might have happened to him.

Then again, there was the even worse possibility that this was one of Kichigai's tricks. Though it is true that Kichigai was defeated, he could have come back to life, just as she believed Hikazu did. What else could have summoned Hyperion? Even if the Titans did work fast, she honestly doubted that they could have replaced Hikazu in such a short amount of time.

Of course, that wasn't the only thing that bothered her. The icy monster she saw that Hyperion fought against seemed to follow the basic design for the Titanic Deities' assault forms. If it was a Titanic Deity, then it could only make one wonder why it was fighting against its own kind.

Could there have been a traitor, or some kind of double agent, in the Titans? If so, then it made her wonder just who it was. Based on what she saw, she believed that one of the two duelists who summoned those monsters was the traitor. But who, one might ask. After all, Hikazu could just as easily have been the traitor as his opponent.

She shook her head. All the thoughts were making her head spin. During the half-hour she had walked, the storm had let up enough to provide better visibility, though not as much as she would have wished for. She also hadn't been paying attention to where she was headed, and now she found herself at the docks. The place where she met Blake and dueled him for the first time.

This war had done a lot of things. Both good and bad. Sadly, it seemed as though the bad would heavily outweigh the good.

She peered over the edge at the frozen water, seeing a strange mist in the reflection. It cleared up in seconds, and she was able to see a few faint images that, as the seconds passed, became clearer and larger.

It was the day that she and Matsu had gone into Team Golem HQ to rescue the captive girl. The image showed Matsu being surrounded by Team Golem, cornered. .When it seemed as though they would beat him half to death, Matsu smirked.

_How about this? You guys let me go, you can have my partner._

Casey's eyes widened upon hearing this. She put her hands over her mouth, finding this hard to believe. _'Matsu would never do that!'_

The next image was of the day Casey was taken by Security. It was an image of Matsu standing around in an alley with a couple of members of Team Golem. They handed him money, and there was a strange, uncomfortable smile on his face.

_Alright. That's more than enough. You can take her._

Casey had fallen to her knees. She tried to convince herself that none of what she saw was real. Matsu, the man she had always known and loved, was not capable of doing something like that. He would never. This _had_ to be another Titan trick. They were just trying to psych her out.

A third image appeared. This time, Matsu was sitting on a chair in the Aguerris Center, extremely angry at something. He held a locket in his bloody hands, and stared at it angrily.

_I swear. Even if its the last thing I ever do, if I ever get out of here, I'll make sure Casey pays for what she did._

"Those are lies!" she cried out, punching the surface of the icy lake. She pulled her hand back quickly after the impact, a small amount of blood covering her knuckles. She had forgotten that everything here was made of ice, not covered in it.

"Oh, but they aren't." said a familiar voice.

She swiftly turned around, and saw a young man with spiky orange hair standing before her. He wore a light-brown sweater, and a pair of brown pants, his sneakers matching the orange-brown color scheme. "Matsu?"

He nodded.

"H-H-How can this be? I-I thought you were dead... They told me..." Casey struggled to speak. There were too many things she wanted to say, to ask. She wanted to believe that this was real, while also wanting it to just be another Titan trick. So many thoughts spun around in her head that she felt her mind would literally explode.

"Me? Dead? Of course not. The only person that's dead is Kaiser." He replied with such harshness, and with such a dark smile, that Casey felt a chill run down her spine. Was this really him? Why was he so different?

"Kaiser? Isn't he the leader of the Titans? I thought Akira defeated him long ago." she said, wondering why he was bringing it up. A sudden realization popped into her head, and she gasped in surprise. "Don't tell me that you're his replacement?" she said, feeling an intense fear within the depths of her heart. If Matsu indeed was Kaiser's replacement, then this meant that they would have to fight each other. It meant she would have to defeat him. And it meant that the images she saw were correct.

Matsu laughed lightly. "His replacement? Impossible. Kaiser would have to have been the leader of the Titans for that to be able to happen."

Casey looked at him curiously. "What do you mean? Are you saying that Akira defeated the wrong person?"

"The leader of the Titan is under no obligation to tell you his name. If he were to pass himself off as Kaiser, then people would have no choice to believe him. This frees him up to worry about other, more important things. Akira only _thought_ he defeated Kaiser because he was misinformed. How was he to know that Matsuda Hideyoshi was still alive, and that Kai Seraphim was dead? He couldn't. All official documents state that Kai attacked him and killed him. Truth was, I managed to kill _him_ instead." he explained.

"So then, all those images... _You're_ the leader of the Titans?"

Matsu nodded. "You got it. Though its true that Akira managed to defeat me in a duel, Titans can only be defeated in a shadow duel of their own creation. However, I was punished for being defeated. For example, I have no more immortality, and I can no longer duel you while masquerading as Kaiser."

"Why were you pretending to be Kaiser?" she asked him.

Matsu raised up his duel disk. "If you want to know, you'll have to duel me."

Casey looked at him, mixed feelings in her heart. It wasn't easy for her to just throw away everything she had thought of Matsu, but seeing him standing before her, saying all those things, she couldn't help but feel like everything she had known was wrong.

She shook her head, trying to forget those thoughts. Matsu was dead. Kaiser was supposedly defeated, but based on what she saw with Hyperion, he could still be alive. So, chances are that Kaiser is just doing this to trick her. Kichigai liked psychological warfare, which meant that there was no reason why Kaiser wouldn't do the same. If they were trying to defeat her, then they would surely pull out all the stops at this point.

Now she was convinced. This wasn't Matsu. It was Kaiser, up to his stupid tricks all over again, and she would make him pay for doing something so cruel.

"Alright. You want to duel, Kaiser? Then let's go! I'll show you what happens when you mess with my friends!"

The snow stopped falling, and the mist had dispersed, revealing Casey's Duel Runner next to Matsu, while Matsu's sleek, black Duel Runner was next to her.

"You honestly believe I'm Kaiser? Haven't you been listening?" Matsu asked as he mounted Casey's Duel Runner.

"Of course I do! My friends already told me that Matsu had died. There's no way I'm going to believe_ you _over _them_! As far as I know, you guys are just trying to get to me. Now get off my Duel Runner!" she replied.

"Nope. The terrain here is different than what you are used to. Your Duel Runner isn't equipped for this. If you don't use mine, then you won't make it very far." he explained.

Glaring, she mounted his Duel Runner, and the Speed World 2 field spell activated.

They sped off into the frozen highway, and Casey took the first turn, Matsu's Duel Runner having superior acceleration chips than the ones in her Duel Runner.

(4000-4000) [0:0]

Casey drew her sixth card and viewed her hand. She held Torapart, Lava Dragon, Negate Attack, The Grave of Enkindling, Boost Warrior, and The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave.

"I start by summoning The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in defense mode!" The heavy-weight green dragon appeared on the field, shielding himself with his wings. (1300/2000)

"Next I set a card on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000) [1:1]

Matsu drew his sixth card, and quickly looked through his hand.

"What will it take for me to convince you that I really am Matsu?" he asked her.

"You can't." she replied. "You aren't anything like him. There's no possible way that you are really him."

"People keeps secrets. Maybe I kept quite a few from you. As far as you know, I could have been pretending all this time."

"That's a lie! You aren't him! And he would never do that!" she stated, interrupting him.

"You seem to be pretty sure about that. Maybe I'm just no trying hard enough. Oh well... I'll start my turn by summoning Blizzed, Defender of the Ice Barrier in defense mode!" A small artic bird, with snow-covered blue feathers all over its body, appeared on the field. (300/500)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000) [2:2]

Casey looked at him with suspicion as she drew her next card. Only one monster? Not only that, but one with such low defense points? It was most likely some kind of trap.

"I summon Masked Dragon in attack mode!" The red-skinned dragon appeared on the field, its green pupils focusing heavily on its next target. (1400/1100)

"Now, I switch The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave to attack mode and command him to destroy Blizzed!" The heavy dragon got up and did a quick turn, smashing the artic bird into pieces.

"When Blizzed is destroyed, I'm able to draw a card." Matsu informed her.

"Doesn't matter. Masked Dragon, attack him directly!" Masked Dragon flew up to Matsu releasing a roar before he hit Matsu with his tail.

"I end my turn."

(4000-2600) [3:3]

"Was that all you could do? I was hoping for more." Matsu taunted as he drew his next card.

"I summon Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier." A young spellcaster, with long silver hair, appeared on the field, wearing a red robe. (1200/2000)

"I activate her effect. By sending an Ice Barrier monster from my hand to the graveyard, neither of us can activate a spell card until the end of my next turn." Matsu took a card from his hand and discarded it.

"Next, I'll set a card on the field and end my turn."

(4000-2600) [4:4]

"I start my turn by summoning Torapart!" The wicked-looking tuner monster appeared on the field, its diminutive stature making it seem silly. (600/600)

"Next, since I have a tuner monster on the field, I can special summon Boost Warrior!" The heavily armored warrior appeared on the field, only a couple of feet taller than Torapart. (300/200)

"As long as he's on the field, all warriors gain three-hundred attack points! Also, I tune Torapart with Masked Dragon!" Torapart turned into two green rings that floated around Masked Dragon as he dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"The holy knight steps to the plate! Make way for the dragon rider! Synchro Summon! Appear, Educated Paladin*!"_

What appeared on the field was something as radiant as Educated Knight. Covered in silver armor, a paladin appeared on the field, riding a large white dragon. The dragon's face, and various parts of its body, was covered by an armor similar to that of its master's. (2100/1000)-(2500/1000)

"What is that thing?" Matsu wondered, never having seen such a monster before.

"Educated Paladin gains a hundred attack points for every Dragon-Type monster in my graveyard. Combined with Boost Warrior's boost, he's strong enough to take down your spellcaster! Attack!"

"It doesn't matter! My Life Points will be safe!" stated Matsu.

"That's where you're wrong. Paladin inflicts piercing damage, and with Torapart's effect, you can't negate his attack!" Paladin stabbed his lance through the spellcaster, causing her to explode in a fiery explosion.

"Now your Life Points are clear again!"

"I activate the trap card, Call of the Haunted!" shouted out Matsu. "This lets me summon a monster from my graveyard, such as General Gantala of the Ice Barrier!" A tall, muscular, dark-skinned man appeared on the field, quickly getting into a fighting pose. (2700/2000)

Just as Casey was about to ask where that monster came from, she remembered his last move. He had discarded a card, and now she saw why. He had set all of this up.

"In that case, I'll switch my other monsters to defense mode, and set one card. I end my turn."

(4000-2100) [5:5]

"I see you were surprised by my tactics. Based on the fact that you didn't see my true side all those years we spent together, its kind of obvious that you wouldn't have seen that coming."

"You aren't Matsu. Stop pretending you're him!" Casey shouted out.

"Dismissing it doesn't make it true. Gantala! Destroy her paladin!" Gantala threw a punch at the dragon-riding knight, but a machine made out of scrap-metal blocked the attack.

"My Scrap-Iron Scarecrow can block your attack once per turn, and then be set back on the field." she informed him.

"Interesting. In that case, I'll summon Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier. His effect should stop you from getting any bright ideas, since level four or higher monsters can't attack while he's on the field." Cryomancer appeared on the field, his small weapon gripped tightly in his hands. (1200/0)

"I end my turn, which means that I can now use Gantala's effect to special summon Spellbreaker of the Ice Barrier from my graveyard." he said, causing an annoyed Spellbreaker to appear on the field.

(4000-2100) [6:6]

"I summon Educated Charmcaster!" The Arabian spellcaster appeared on the field, her face hidden by a veil as always. (200/300)

"Thanks to her effect, when she's summoned, I can change the battle position of one of your monsters." She pointed to Gantala, who reluctantly switched into defense mode.

"Now I'll tune her with The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave!" Charmcaster turned into two green rings that revolved around the dragon, who dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight!"_

With a shining entrance, Educated Knight made his appearance, wielding his magical sword and shield. (2500/1900)-(2800/1900)

"Also, since there's another Dragon-Type monster in my graveyard, Paladin gets another hundred attack points." Paladin shone brightly for a moment, his attack points increasing to 2600.

"See what happens when you mess with me and my friends? I won't let you guys get away with this! Not only do you guys defeat my friends in these horrendous duels, but then you also insult my friend Matsu by doing _this_! You picked on the wrong person!" declared Casey, her thoughts and strengths focused on winning this duel in honor of her friends.

"I end my turn."

(4000-2100) [7:7]

"I never loved you, you know." Matsu stated coldly, causing Casey to freeze momentarily. "Think what you want, but all these years, I only used you. Everything I did had a purpose, and all that stuff I did for you, it was to gain your trust. Your loyalty. Your obedience. I figured that you would be so loyal to me, that you would eventually do whatever I asked you to do, no questions asked."

"Shut up!" Casey screamed. "You're just lying. Matsu never did that!"

"You stupid, ignorant idiot!" Matsu shouted at her. "Are you really this dense! Why would you think I loved you? Its because of you why we had so much trouble in the Satellite! Its because of you why I ended up in the Aguerris Center! Its because of you why I ended up getting attacked by that madman, Kai! Its because of you why I'm here! Why I joined the Titans! You left me for dead, and so did all my other so-called friends! Do you know how much I suffered in there? The reason why I'm with the Titans is because I wanted revenge! All of you deserve to suffer as much as I did!"

Casey was speechless. He spoke with such passion, anger, and energy. He was incredibly convincing. She almost believed that he was Matsu. Almost. She couldn't let herself believe that. If this was Matsu, and if what he said was true, then the duel would be much harder than she thought it would be.

"I summon Mother Grizzly!" The large, blue-furred bear appeared on the field. (1400/1000)

"Next, I tune Cryomancer to Spellbreaker and Mother Grizzly!" Cryomancer turned into two green rings that revolved around the other two monsters, who dissolved into four stars each.

_"Feel the power of my isolation! Let the eternal coldness of my heart take shape! Synchro Summon! Freeze, Titanic Deity-Oceanus!"_

The Titanic Deity that Matsu had used against Hikazu now stood before him once again. The sea serpent-like man held his staff up, ready for battle. (3500/1700)

"When he's summoned, I can remove from play cards from your graveyard equal to the number of cards on your field." All four of Casey's cards were ejected from the graveyard slot, and she pocketed away the cards. Paladin's attack points then decreased to 2300.

"Gantala, destroy Boost Warrior!" Gantala attacked, but was once again intercepted by Scrap-Iron Scarecrow.

"Oceanus, destroy Boost Warrior!" This time, the attack went through, and Boost Warrior shattered into pieces when the ice shards impaled him. Boost Warrior's destruction reduced the attack points of Educated Knight to 2500, and Paladin's attack points to 2100.

"I end my turn." Through the use of Gantala's effect, Spellbreaker appeared again, more annoyed than ever.

(4000-2100) [7:7]

Casey took a deep breath. The Titanic Deity had been summoned, but it wasn't at full power yet. Since the only card in her opponent's spell and trap card zone was Call of the Haunted, she could lose some worry. Matsu still hadn't drawn the '/Assault Mode Activate' trap card.

"I summon Lava Dragon!" The purple-skinned, six-legged dragon appeared on the field, taking a defensive pose.

"I switch my monsters to defense mode and end my turn!"

(4000-2100) [8:8]

Matsu smirked. "Running scared, huh?"

He drew his next card, and began with his turn.

"I activate Spellbreaker's effect, discarding a card from my hand to negate the use of spell cards until my next turn's end phase." He took a card from his hand and inserted it into the graveyard slot.

"Gantala, attack her Paladin!" Casey's trap interfered once again, calling off the attack.

"Oceanus, destroy Paladin!" he commanded. Oceanus fired off ice shards from his staff, impaling the dragon rider.

"I activate the trap card, The Grave of Enkindling! This allows us to special summon a monster from our graveyard, provided that it remains in defense position!" Educated Paladin returned to her field, while Mother Grizzly appeared on Matsu's field.

"Alright. That's enough for me. I end my turn, so that I may special summon General Grunard of the Ice Barrier!"

The monster that appeared was a tall, muscular man. He wore heavy sets of light blue armor, and spires of ice shot out of the ground beneath him. (2800/1000)

(4000-2100) [9:9]

"Man, you're a tough person to break, aren't you?" Matsu asked. "The man you loved is right here in front of you, telling you how he never cared about you, and you don't even seem to care."

"I keep telling you! You can't possibly be Matsu! This is just another trick!"

Matsu smirked and reached to something tied around his neck. He pulled it off, stretching his arm out so that Casey could see it clearly. "Is _this_ a trick as well?"

Casey stared at the object in Matsu's hand in disbelief. It was a small locket, the twin to the one she had. It had the japanese symbol for 'love'. This was the proof she needed. Something about seeing him, holding it in his hands, made her believe it. She wasn't sure why, or even how, but she did.

"Don't you get it yet? It really is me! I'm telling you the truth! I don't care if you don't want to believe it or not! The fact of the matter is, we are here, and we are dueling. You only have two choices: stand and fight, or lose this duel and be just as big a disappointment to Zeke as you were for me!"

"Matsu, how could you say that? I loved you! I would have done anything for you!" she cried out.

"But you didn't! Now look at where we are! Enemies. Face-to-face in a battle to determine the world's future. You need to understand the importance of this battle! After what I've been through, I wouldn't hesitate to defeat you. Can you find the strength inside yourself to do the same? Because if you can't, then you'll truly be just a big disappointment." he told her harshly.

Casey was silent for a moment. Matsu was making sense. If she couldn't defeat him, then she'd let down all her friends. Let down all those who fought hard so that she could make it this far. But, could she really defeat the man she had always loved? Even though his words hurt, and she was confused about who he truly was, a part of her still loved him too much to hurt him.

"It's my turn!" she stated, drawing a card.

"I summon Delta Flyer in attack mode!" A small green dragon with long wings appeared on the field. (1500/900)

"When he's summoned, his effect increases the level of a monster on my field by one." Paladin glowed brightly as his level went up.

"Now, I'll tune him with Lava Dragon!" Delta Flyer turned into three green rings that revolved around Lava Dragon as it dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"Let the power inside explode! Show the power of the bonds between friends! Synchro Summon! Shout it out, Exploder Dragonwing!"_

Exploder Dragonwing appeared on the field in a flashy entrance, releasing powerful soundwaves that resonated across the entire town. (2400/1600)

"_Three _Synchro Monsters on the field at once! My, Casey. You've really stepped up your game since we last dueled in the WRGP. Still, none of your monsters are strong enough to take down my Titanic Deity, so your move was pretty wasteful."

Casey smirked. "I've had many friends supporting me throughout this whole war, and I learned quite a few things. You'd be surprised at what I can do." she replied.

"Exploder Dragonwing, destroy Mother Grizzly!" Dragonwing fired a powerful pulse that shattered the monster into pieces, and severely harmed Matsu.

"What the hell was that!" he exclaimed, wincing from the pain of the various lacerations he obtained from the attack.

"When Exploder Dragonwing attacks a monster with equal or lower attack points, he can destroy that monster with his effect and deal damage equal to that monster's attack points." she explained. "Next, I'll set a card and end my turn."

(4000-700) [10:10]

_"Yes, it does. The man that you loved so much no longer exists, his existence taken away by the Emperor!"_

The words of the Fates resonated in her head at the moment. _'Is this what she meant? That ever since he became leader of the Titans, he isn't who he was before?'_ she wondered.

"Nice move. Since you destroyed my monster with an effect, I can't use her effect to summon another monster. However, I can't allow you try that again. I summon Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier!" A young man dressed in blue oriental robes appeared on the field. He was blindfolded and wielded two swords. (100/1600)

"As long as he's on the field, my Ice Barrier monsters can't be targeted by your monsters' effects! Now, Gantala, attack Dragonwing!"

As Matsu had expected, the attack was blocked. However, what he didn't expect was for it to be blocked by Negate Attack.

"Nice counter. I set a card and end my turn."

(4000-700) [11:11]

Matsu suddenly sped up. Just a few yards ahead, there was a thick block of ice blocking off the path.

"Matsu, are you insane? You need to slow down!" Casey cried out.

Matsu smirked, and drove straight through the wall. Ice columns shot out from the spot he impacted, and Casey soon found that she was unable to stop herself from crashing into the wall as well. She closed her eyes and lowered her head to brace for impact.

But the impact never came.

She opened her eyes, and found herself on a duel lane in the actual Neo Domino. She was no longer in the glacier that was sculpted to resemble Neo Domino. No, now she _was_ in Neo Domino. Ahead of her, was Matsu, and on a dueling lane on the side, completely awestruck, was Zeke, riding alongside to watch the ongoing event.

"Casey! There you are! I've been looking for you!" he yelled out.

She looked at him and smiled, happy to see her friend by her side.

"Touching reunion, but I believe we have a duel to finish!" Matsu exclaimed, interrupting their celebration.

"Matsu! Is that you!" Zeke asked, staring in disbelief.

Matsu smirked in reply. "Yeah. You'd better get ready, Zeke. Once I defeat Casey, you're next!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Zeke! Matsu is the leader of the Titans!" Casey informed him.

"You've got to be kidding me! Casey, you have to fill me in on what happened to you."

Casey nodded. "I will. But first, I have a duel to finish!" she told him.

"Its my turn." she stated, drawing a card.

"I set a card on the field and end my turn." She took a quick look at the monsters on her field. They were there to protect her, and help her protect her friends and their wishes. She looked at Educated Knight and thought of Akira. She looked at Educated Paladin and thought of Zeke. She looked at Exploder Dragonwing and thought of Blake. They had all helped her out, and now it about time that she did something.

(4000-700) [12:12]

"Well, Casey, I have to say that you've dueled well, but I really think its time to put an end to this. I activate the trap, /Assault Mode Activate!"

Oceanus faded away, and from beneath the frozen waters around Neo Domino, a gargantuan skeletal arm popped out. Appearing in the same manner as when it was summoned to battle against Hyperion, the true form of Oceanus made its appearance.(4300/500)

"That monster... Were you the one fighting against Hikazu?" Casey asked.

"Indeed I was." he told her.

"But he was your teammate!" she exclaimed.

"You'd be surprised, actually. We aren't all on good terms with each other." he informed her.

"Anyway, let's keep dueling. I use Speed World 2's effect! By removing ten of my speed counters, I can destroy your Scarp-Iron Scarecrow!" A bolt of lightning fell upon Casey's trap, destroying it upon impact.

As Matsu fell behind, Casey saw something strange. His right hand was completely burned. Somehow, during the duel, that had occurred, but Casey couldn't remember what could have happened to cause it.

"Next, I'll attack your Paladin with Grunard!" Grunard summoned a column of ice from underneath Paladin, impaling the poor dragon rider.

"Gantala, destroy Dragonwing!"

"I activate the trap card, Sakuretsu Armor! This will destroy your monster!" Casey countered, causing Gantala to explode into bits.

"Nice move, but it won't protect you. Oceanus, attack Dragonwing!" Oceanus opened its mouth, releasing a powerful gust of icy wind that tore Dragonwing apart. Casey cried out in pain as the shards of ice caused various lacerations on her arms.

"I end my turn."

(2100-700) [12:2]

"Its my turn!" she cried out.

She stared at the card she had drawn and sighed.

_'Do I really have to do this? If I don't win, I'll let down all those who fought so hard for me. But, If I do win, I'll be killing Matsu. He may not be the same as before, but its because of me why he's like this...' _she thought.

At the moment, she felt there was nothing more she could do. She had to win, no matter what the cost.

"I use Speed World 2's effect! By removing seven speed counters, I can draw one more card!" She slowed down and drew her next card, her eyes shut tightly as she prayed for something that could help.

_"...Do not be sad, though. The man of which we speak had the ability to make things happen, and just like you, he had to choose his fate. Now, its your turn."_

"I activate the speed spell, Dragon's Mirror! It allows me to fusion summon a fusion monster by removing from play the monsters needed from my graveyard!"

A swirling colorful portal appeared. A roar was heard and a large creature flew out of it. It was a tall dragon, with purple skin, most of it concealed by its blue armor. It had large wings and held a massive lance in its hands. (3200/2000)

"Meet Dragon Knight-Draco Equistes!"

"That thing isn't strong enough to defeat me, Casey! Looks like you're as weak as always!"

Casey shook her head in response. "Not true. I've learned that when your friends are behind you, you can defeat anyone! With the support I gained from my friends, I found my true power, and now you'll witness it! I activate the speed spell, Final Attack! It doubles the attack points of one of my monsters until the end phase of this turn."

Draco Equistes glowed a bright green color as its attack points rose all the way to 6400.

"Draco Equistes, take down Oceanus!"

Draco raised up its lance towards Oceanus. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, charged at the gargantuan creature. It not only impaled Oceanus, but also burst through to the other side, causing the Titan to release a powerful screech.

Matsu's Duel Runner let out a sudden burst of steam, and stopped in its stopped a few feet ahead of him, and turned to him.

"That's what happens when you mess with my friends, Titan!" she stated happily, but the smile on her face faded away when she saw the one that was on Matsu's face. "Why are you so happy?"

"Because you won." he explained. "Finally, I don't have to worry."

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"I joined the Titans because of you. If I had joined the Olympians, this battle would have still occurred, but our roles would have been switched. I knew that I didn't have the strength to kill you, no matter what you did. I love you way too much. So, when I was given the chance to join the Titans, I set my plan in motion." he told her.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to defeat me unless the stakes were high enough. That's why I asked the Titans to change my identity. As long as you didn't know it was me, you wouldn't have a problem defeating me. However, there was still the matter of your dueling. I knew you had much potential, but you still needed to get much stronger. That's why, as leader of the Titans, I made sure to use the 'Fair Fight Clause' to make sure that you became stronger. It didn't matter how bad the things I did were. In the end, as long as you guys won the war, it would all be fine." he continued, tears falling from his cheeks.

"You've gotten really strong, Casey. I'm glad. I can see that you have the strength to win this war. I've put all my trust in you, and pushed as far as I can possibly go. Now, its up to you. You still have two opponents left, and they aren't going to be easy to beat. Promise me that you'll win, and prevent the Titans from winning this war."

Casey ran up to him and hugged him, tears falling from her cheeks as well. She could feel how cold he was, yet she felt some warmth from him. She couldn't explain it, but she was happy nonetheless. "I promise. Matsu, you always go to far. I've always hated that about you. But you're right. The Titans can't win this war. If they do, everything you've done... Everything all of you guys have done, will have been done in vain."

Matsu nodded. "That's all I ever wanted..." He gave her a deep kiss and pushed her back. "Now, you have to go." he told her. Oceanus was beginning to fall apart, and if she didn't get out of there quickly, she would be crushed. She gave him another kiss, smiled at him, and left, glad to know that Matsu had spent this whole time trying to help her as well, even if things ended this way.

"Well, well. That was lovely. I always knew you were up to something like this, but I didn't think you would sacrifice yourself at this point." said a familiar voice.

Matsu turned, and saw none other than Atlas standing behind him. "She's strong enough to win. She doesn't need my help anymore."

Atlas smiled evilly. "I sure hope that's true, because I won't be holding back. Such a shame, really. You wanted the Titans defeated, and yet the only one who has ever defeated me is you. By sacrificing yourself now, you've sealed her fate. There's no possible way she can defeat me."

"Heh. Too bad I won't be able to see you eat those words." Matsu replied.

"Say what you want. You know, its true. We do know a lot about each other. Unfortunately for you, I know a lot more than you. Had you known more about me, then maybe your girlfriend's next battle wouldn't end up being so... painful."

Matsu's arm became completely covered in ice, his hand taking the form of three long, sharp claws. "Unfortunately for you, when I told her about two more opponents, you weren't included." Matsu stated.

"Give it your best shot!" Atlas urged him.

"I'll see you in Hell, Tueur!" he cried out, charging at him with his arm stretched out.

**End of Chapter 34.**

* * *

_Tueur plans were extremely complicated, and with Matsu out of the picture, he has no choice but to carry things out personally. Prepare to see Tueur's true role in this war, and why he and Matsu were always at odds. Be on the lookout for: Earth's Last Stand._

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Educated Paladin - Monster Card

Type: Warrior/Synchro

Attribute: Light

Level: 5

ATK: 2100

DEF: 1000

Effect:

"1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters"

This card gains 100 attack points for each Dragon-Type monster in your graveyard. During battle between this monster and an opponent's defense position monster, if this card's attack points are higher than the opposing monster's defense points, inflict the difference as battle damage.

* * *

Speed Spell-Dragon's Mirror - Spell Card

Type: Normal

Effect: When you have five or more speed counters, you can activate this card. Remove from play, from your side of the field or your Graveyard, Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a Dragon-Type Fusion Monster Card, and Special Summon that Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summon.)


	35. Chapter 35: Earth's Last Stand

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Lemon by Katy Rose  
_

* * *

**Chapter 35: Earth's Last Stand**

"So this is where it all ends, huh?" Tueur asked Jihl. "Us two, teammates, forced to duel against each other instead of dueling our enemies. Sad that things had to come to this."

The rain fell heavily upon them. It was the perfect accessory to their final meeting. A dark air surrounding them, the smell of death was impossible to ignore. It was obvious that one of them wouldn't be surviving this encounter, so the stage was set. The anger and distrust inside Jihl would now battle against the darkness and hatred within Tueur's heart. Where Matsu had failed, Jihl was determined to succeed.

"You talk about us as if we were teammates. We both know that's a lie. I saw what you did to Matsu, and its obvious that we aren't on the same side." she stated coldly. "You killed him..."

Tueur pulled off his cloak and tossed it aside, revealing his blood-red/black clothing as well as a small dagger strapped around his waist. "So you saw that, huh? To be honest, wouldn't that mean that he wasn't on the same side as us?" he asked her.

Jihl shook her head. "Matsu may not have agreed with the desires of the Titans, but we all know that he still fought for their cause. Just because he wanted them to live up to their promises does not mean that he was a traitor." she explained.

"What exactly does that mean, then? Are you saying that _I_ am the traitor?" he asked, though the look on Jihl's face said enough for him not to require a verbal response. "Did you know that each one of us has a role in this war? Kichigai was here due to his use of psychological warfare during duels. Hikazu was here due to his way of pressuring his opponent during a duel. Matsu was here because of his extraordinary dueling skills. Had we not recruited him, he would have been dueling us, and would have most likely defeated us."

"Is this going anywhere?" Jihl asked, cutting him off out of irritation.

"My point is, that I have my own role as well. You may believe I'm a simple foot soldier, but you are wrong. I'm here for a greater reason. In a war, each side has something that gives them an advantage, and once its been used to its fullest extent, it needs to be destroyed, for it no longer helps them in the war. That would be my job. I am here to take down everything that no longer serves a purpose for the Titans. Hikazu, Matsuda, Kichigai, and Tobikuma. All of them were valuable in our quest to defeat the Olympian Gods, but they had served their purpose. Either directly or indirectly, I made sure they were taken out." he informed her.

"Hikazu always got in over his head, so I made sure that I could use that to my benefit. His short temper and his overgrown ego would be his own destruction, especially since I knew he'd refuse to die before defeating Matsu. Kichigai was harder to take down. He had the Wicked Gods to protect him, but his insanity would eventually be his end. I made sure that he fought someone who could pressure him enough to make him slip up. Tobikuma was the vessel for the Titan Uranus. The problem with that Titan was that he wanted complete and total power over the Titans. As such, I had to deal with him personally. I set him up for his own destruction."

"And what about Matsuda!" she exclaimed, unable to control herself any longer. Hearing him talk about how he had betrayed so many of his teammates just made her skin boil. "Why did you do that to him?"

A dark smile made its way onto Tueur's face. "Matsuda wanted the Olympians to win. It doesn't matter if he fought for us or not, he was still threat. That's why he was killed."

"That's not what I mean! Why the dagger? You knew his fate was sealed. You knew he had already been defeated. So, why?"

"Matsu had been defeated by the girl, as he desperately wished. However, he also wanted me dead as well. He wasn't an idiot. Though he knew that I couldn't be killed, he knew that if I were pulled down into the depths of the ocean with him, there would be no possible way for me to duel, thus resulting in an automatic defeat on my end. The reason why I stabbed him just before his attack connected was because I was not about to allow him to end things on his terms. He could die as he wished, but I would not grant him the satisfaction of letting everything go according to his plans." He finished with a cackling laugh that filled the air, echoing off into the distance.

With anger in her eyes, Jihl stared at him as he laughed. Between the darkness and isolation of the city, and the heavy rain, Tueur seemed to be the insane murderer his actions would describe him to be.

"That's enough!" she shouted out, causing the area to become completely silent, save the sound of the falling raindrops. "Let's duel." she stated with absolute determination in her voice. This would be it. Where Matsu had failed, she would succeed.

Tueur welcomed the challenge, and they activated their duel disks.

(4000-4000)

"I'll grant you the pleasure of having the first turn." he told her, feeling confident in his ability to defeat her.

Replying with a scowl, she drew her sixth card and examined her hand. Though she held Monster Reborn, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, Naturia Cliff, Naturia Fruitfly, Naturia Beans, and Landoise's Luminous Moss, she knew that her options for now were somewhat limited. However, she could use Naturia Cliff to special summon a tuner and Synchro Summon on her next turn, provided that Tueur destroyed her monster.

"I start by setting one card on the field, and summoning Naturia Cliff in defense mode." Naturia Cliff, a large rectangular wall made out of solid rock, appeared on the field. (1500/1000)

"I end my turn."

(4000-4000)

Tueur drew a card and began his turn with an eerie calm. "Let me give you just a taste of what my deck can really do." he said.

"I activate the spell card, Polymerization! With this, I can summon a fusion monster by discarding the material monsters from my hand." He took three cards from his hand and discarded them.

A large, colorful, swirling portal appeared beside him, and the faint images of the three Infernity Beast that he discarded appeared briefly. Then, a large beastly head popped out, followed by another, and then another. Now, a three-headed beastly creature stood on the field, a poisonous haze escaping from its gaping maws. (2700/1900)

"Meet, Infernity Hellhound*!" he exclaimed, introducing his monster.

"I thought you had a Titanic Deity as your ace!" Jihl said, following a gasp as she was surprised by the appearance of the creature.

"You poor, naive girl. Like I would dare waste my Titanic Deity on you. Sorry, but you'll fall to the power of my deck, because I don't need Atlas to defeat you!" he replied. "Hellhound, destroy her insect!"

The beast's head focused on the small Naturia monster, and quickly released a poisonous breath. Though Naturia Cliff tried to fight it off, the corroding acid in the beast's breath was too much, causing the poor Naturia monster to shatter into pieces.

"When Naturia Cliff is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a level four or lower Naturia monster from my deck. Come on out, Naturia Butterfly!" A small butterfly appeared on the field, showing off the purple/pink colors of her wings. (500/1200)

"Don't even try to attack, since her effect allows me to negate your attack by simply discarding the top card of my deck."

"Nice. That little bug has a bit more fight than I initially thought, then. No matter. I set one card and summon Infernity Randomizer!" The robotic warrior appeared on the field, its fiendish face scanning the field for targets. (900/0)

"Infernity Randomizer's effect activates. Once per turn, if I hold no cards in my hand, I can draw one card and reveal it. If it is a monster, then you take damage equal to two hundred points times the monster's level. If its a spell or a trap, then I shall take five hundred points of damage. I hope you are feeling lucky..."

He drew a card, and the smile on his face was wiped away. As soon as it did, Infernity Randomizer turned to him and electrocuted him. "Grr... Lightning doesn't strike twice for me..." he stated, ending his turn.

(4000-3500)

As she drew Barkion's Bark, Jihl knew that her plan was working perfectly. She not only had to put pressure on her opponent, but she also had to strike fast. She didn't know what was in Tueur's deck, but she didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

"I activate the spell card, Barkion's Bark! Since I have a Naturia monster on my field, this card prevents you from using any traps this turn." she said, making sure that Tueur's set card didn't do anything to prevent her from Synchro Summoning.

"Now, I'll summon Naturia Fruitfly to the field." True to its name, Naturia Fruitfly was a fly with a body made up of a blackberry, a strawberry, and a blueberry. (800/1500)

"Next I'll use the spell card, Monster Reborn, to bring back Naturia Cliff." With a heavy thud, Naturia Cliff appeared on the field, seeming somewhat tired from its last battle. (1500/1000)

"I tune my Naturia Butterfly with Naturia Cliff and Naturia Fruitfly!" Naturia Butterfly turned into three green rings and floated around Naturia Cliff, who dissolved into four golwing stars, and Naturia Fruitfly, who dissolved into three glowing stars, for a total of ten stars.

_"The Earth stands oppressed no longer! Let it break free and take control! Fight for freedom, Titanic Deity-Gaia*!"_

A beautiful young woman appeared on the field. She wore a long green dress, and her silky long, brown hair was adorned with a golden ring of leaves that rested at the top of her head. Though physically, she looked weak, one sensed an aura of overwhelming power coming from her. (2700/1300)

"Since Naturia Cliff's effect activates regardless of how it was removed from the field and sent to the graveyard, I can use it again and summon another monster, such as Naturia Mosquito!" A tiny, yet extremely colorful, mosquito appeared on the field, resting on Gaia's head. (200/300)

"Also, I use Gaia's effect. Once per turn, I can special summon a level four or lower Earth attribute monster from my hand. So, I summon Naturia Beans." A trio of very small green beans, each with a different personality, appeared on the field. (100/1200)

Tueur clapped slowly, the sound irritating Jihl more and more as it mixed in with the rain. "Very nice. I have to say, you're better than I thought. I guess its one thing to see your deck on paper, and its another to see it in action. Unfortunately for you, none of your monsters are strong enough to destroy my hound."

Jihl smirked. "My purpose is not to destroy your monster. You see, as long as Naturia Mosquito is on the field, all battle damage I take from battles involving Naturia monsters is inflicted upon you instead. So, Naturia Beans, attack his Infernity Hellhound!"

The trio of green beans launched themselves at the mighty beast, fists outstretched. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can use the effect of my Infernity Hellhound and negate your attack."

An invisible barrier surrounded the large creature, and blasted away the small monsters.

"Since you have no more cards in your hand, I'll attack your Infernity Randomizer with Gaia." Gaia looked at the fiendish warrior and smiled. Within seconds, giant, thorny roots erupted from beneath Infernity Randomizer and dragged it down into the abyss they had created.

The monster's explosion sent shockwaves throughout the building on which they stood, decreasing Tueur's Life Points.

"I set a card and end my turn."

(4000-1700)

Tueur and Jihl were completely drenched at this point. The rain had gotten heavier as the duel's intensity increased.

"You are indeed strong, Jihl. However, you won't be getting very far. I don't know what it is that makes you believe that you can defeat me, but I can assure you that it is lying. You need to understand that no matter how hard you try, you won't be walking out of this alive." he informed her.

"I activate the spell card, Pot of Greed. This allows me to draw two more cards." he said, adding two more cards to his hand.

"Tueur, you are a menace. It doesn't matter whose side I'm on anymore. You need to be destroyed. As long as you are around, this world won't get any better. With people like you, this world is doomed to failure. Matsu realized this. He knew you had to be defeated. Though he tried desperately to take you down with him, he knew deep down that I would be the one who would have to stop you. That's why we are here. He told me that, should he fail, it would be up to me to defeat you." she stated.

"Really? He sure had high hopes for you. I do wonder what he said to convince you of this, but in the end, it wouldn't matter. You'll lose, and I'll be able to continue on. I'll kill everyone on this miserable planet."

"But why?" she asked him.

"Because no one can stop me, that's why. People say they can protect that which they love, but in the end, its always a miserable bluff." he explained.

"Enough of this stalling. Time to move on with the duel. I activate the quicklplay spell, De-Fusion. This turns my Infernity Hellhound back into three Infernity Beast." The gargantuan creature glowed brightly and shrunk down, splitting into three small panther-like beasts. (1600/1200) [x3]

"I'll have the first one attack your Naturia Beans."

"I activate the trap card, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. This negates your attack, and I can set it back on the field." Jihl countered, causing the pile of scrap metal to push back the beast.

"I'll have the second one attack you, then." This time, Jihl could not stop the attack, but fortunately, the effect of Naturia Mosquito would keep her safe. Naturia Beans exploded, but the backlash of the explosion hit Tueur.

Despite his unbelievably low life points, Tueur continued, seemingly unaffected by the situation.

"I'll have the third one attack your Naturia Mosquito." This time, Naturia Mosquito's effect could not protect her, and she took the damage.

"Next I'll use the spell card, Infernity Burst. This deals eight-hundred points of damage to your Life points for each Infernity monster I control." Each Infernity Beast barked, releasing a burst of sound that pushed Jihl a few steps back.

She clenched her teeth as she had fallen witness to Tueur's counterattack. She didn't like it one bit. This guy was insane, and willing to go to any length to obtain a victory. It was obvious that she had her work cut out for her.

"I end my turn."

(200-200)

Jihl breathed heavily as she drew her next card. She had lost almost all her Life Points in just one turn. Almost all that she had done throughout the duel had been torn down in a matter of minutes. It seemed as though Tueur was right. It seemed as though defeating him would be impossible. Still, she had to try. Not just for Matsu, but for everyone. That was her mission, and she couldn't forget it.

She looked at the card she had drawn and took a deep breath before she set it on the field. This was her last chance. If she didn't do something now, then it would all be over.

"Gaia, attack his Infernity Beast and finish him off!" she commanded.

"I activate the trap card, Infernity Break! Since I have no cards in my hand, I can activate this card. By removing from play one Infernity monster in my graveyard, I can select one card that you control and destroy it!"

A bolt of lightning shot out of his graveyard slot and electrocuted the Titanic Deity, destroying her completely. Jihl stood in disbelief as she saw what had occurred. It was impossible. That was her only chance to win. All she could do now was hope that her backup card could buy her an extra turn, and another chance to obtain her victory.

"I end my turn." she said in a low voice, muffled by the sound of pouring rain.

(200-100)

Tueur drew a card and smirked calmly. "Its as I said. You won't be able to defeat me. I set a card, and then command my Infernity Beast to attack you directly."

"I won't go down that easily. I activate my trap card, Mirror Force!" she shouted out, but to her immense surprise, the trap did not activate.

"Whenever Infernity Beast attacks while I hold no cards in my hand, my opponent cannot activate any spell or traps until the end of the damage step." Tueur informed her.

"What?" she exclaimed, the beast ramming her onto the ground with all its weight.

The impact was strong enough to cause her to bleed internally, as well as leave her momentarily paralyzed.

Tueur walked up to her and stared at her as she slowly lost consciousness. She had a surprised look, and there was some blood dripping down her cheeks. Of course, the rain quickly washed it away.

Tueur chuckled as he saw his defeated opponent. "I told you that you wouldn't win. After all, you are the only Titan whose Titanic Deity doesn't have an Assault Mode." he told her. "I don't even know why I'm saying this. You probably don't even hear a word I'm saying, do you?"

True to word, Jihl had no idea what Tueur was saying. As she lied there, paralyzed and losing consciousness, only one thing ran through her head. All she could hear was what Matsu had told her a while before his duel against Casey. All she could hear was:

_You are not fighting for the Titans. You aren't fighting for the Olympians. You are fighting for all the innocent people that were caught in the middle of this. You are their last hope. You are the Earth's last chance at freedom..._

**End of Chapter 35.**

* * *

_As the story gets closer and closer to its end, we witness Tueur duel against Casey. Without the use of his own Titanic Deity, Tueur was able to destroy Jihl's Titanic Deity, and take her down without worrying about his own Life Points. With Tueur planning to use Atlas in his next duel, Casey's got to find a way to win, or else it'll be up to Zeke to determine the fate of the world. Don't miss: Wrath of the Shinigami._

* * *

A/N: There's about four chapters left in this story, give or take, so things are slowly going to be wrapping up.

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Infernity Hellhound - Monster Card

Type: Beast

Attribute: Dark

Level: 8

ATK: 2700

DEF: 1900

Effect:

Infernity Beast + Infernity Beast + Infernity Beast

As long as this card is on the field, if your opponent declares an attack, you can discard one card from your hand to negate it.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Gaia - Monster Card

Type: Spellcaster/Synchro

Attribute: Earth

Level: 10

ATK: 2700

DEF: 1300

Effect:

"1 Earth Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters"

Once per turn, you can special summon one level four or lower monster from your hand to the field.


	36. Chapter 36: Wrath of the Shinigami

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Had Enough by Breaking Benjamin_

* * *

**Chapter 36: Wrath of the Shinigami**

The heavy rain had not let up at all. Casey and Zeke drove through the flooded streets with no destination. They were tired, and could barely continue. The city was dark, empty, and sad. The echoing sadness of all those that had lost their lives because of this war was never-ending.

Through their silence, Casey and Zeke mourned them, along with their fallen comrades and their enemies. No one deserved such a fate. They knew this deep in their hearts. What they had learned from Akira, as well as what they learned from their opponents, was that everyone seemed to be a victim in this war.

It wasn't fair, and she knew this. That's why she had made up her mind to stop this. After seeing how far Matsu went to make sure that she could make it through this war, she wasn't about to let him down. She would fight to the very end, and she wouldn't give up. She wasn't about to let all their deaths be in vain.

"Are you okay, Casey?" Zeke asked her, feeling worried. "I mean, what you've gone through... Its not exactly easy."

Casey nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Its just... Well, all you guys have done so much for me. I kind of feel like I don't deserve it." she replied sadly.

"Don't say that, Casey." Zeke scolded her. "We do this because we are your friends, and we are all in this together. We knew what we were getting into, and so did Matsu. He had faith in you. He believed that you had the strength to stop this whole thing, and I think he's right. You are strong, Casey. You can do this, and I'll be there by your side. There's no way I'll let you go through this alone."

Her Duel Runner slowed to a halt, followed by Zeke's. She looked at him and smiled, the water dripping down her cheeks making it hard to determine whether or not she was crying. "Thank you." she whispered to him.

"No problem." he replied. "What do you think it means? The card that we got from Matsu." he asked her, taking out the card.

She looked at it for a moment, pondering what it meant.

"Ultimate Offering. The cards that you get from defeated Titan members are a sign of what's to come. The Fates are the ones in charge of assigning them, a way to warn you guys. The card that you guys obtained from Matsu's defeat meant that a final price was to be paid." Tueur stated calmly.

Surprised, Casey and Zeke stared at him. They never noticed him until he spoke, which sent a chill down their spine. This guy was quiet, and scary. Everything about him seemed to cry out for blood, and even his words carried the scent of death.

He looked up at the sky, examining the rain. "Seems like the Heavens are still crying." he stated. Shifting his gaze back to Casey and Zeke, he continued to speak. "Though I can't say I'm sad about it, I have to tell you that your friend Matsu was wrong. As of this moment, I am the only remaining Titan in this war. Defeating me guarantees your victory." he informed her.

"What happened to the other one?" she asked.

"I did you the favor of eliminating her." he replied, feeling nothing towards his fallen teammate.

"You mean you killed her, right?" Zeke asked, prompting Tueur to nod in reply. "I see. You guys really have no sense of teamwork, do you?"

"Not at all. We aren't a team. We are a bunch of soldiers. In this war, its every man for himself. No one will care if one of us dies." he explained. "I'm your final opponent. That's all that matters. If you really want to win this war, you'll have to get through me. I have to warn you, though. It won't be an easy battle. After all, I promised your friend Matsu that I would make it slow and painful." he stated, finishing off with a smirk.

At this moment, Zeke and Casey understood the meaning of the card in their hands. Tueur had paid an ultimate price. He had sacrificed his own teammates in order to have a chance to fight them. "Like Hell you will!" Zeke shouted. "You'll be going through me first!"

With a mad look in his eyes, Tueur stared at Zeke. "I'm afraid you won't be able to do that. I'll let you watch her die, though. I don't mind letting you see that, no matter how hard you try, you can't protect anyone."

Zeke growled, and as he was about to reply, he found his vision starting to blur. His breathing was getting heavier, and he found himself feeling weak. His legs were about to give way, and he could barely stay up. His eyelids were becoming harder and harder to keep open, and he was quickly losing his mobility. He felt like he was suffocating, and moments later, he collapsed. His eyes barely open, he could see what was occurring, but had lost the ability to interfere.

"Zeke!" Casey cried out, kneeling down by his side. "Are you okay? Say something!" She put her hand on his chest, and could feel a faint heartbeat. He was still alive, but just barely.

"Your friend will be fine." Tueur assured her. "I just made sure that he won't do anything to mess up our duel. Now, if you please..." he trailed off, activating his duel disk.

Reluctantly, Casey stood up and activated her own duel disk. At the very least, she wouldn't leave Zeke's side. She pulled off the string that held her hair in a ponytail, allowing her hair to be free once more. It covered half of her face, the water causing it to stick to her skin. She brushed it aside, allowing Tueur to see the determined look in her eyes. She was ready to kill him, and she would not hold back.

Tueur smiled as he realized this. This was just what he wanted.

(4000-4000)

Casey drew her sixth card as she started her turn. Though she didn't know this, her plan to gain the field advantage could backfire as badly as it did for Jihl.

She looked at her hand, which consisted of Future Fusion, Silent Swordsman LV. 5, Masked Dragon, The Grave of Enkindling, Ghost Gardna, and Curse of Royal.

"I'll start by activating the continuous spell, Future Fusion. I can send Fusion-Material monsters from my deck to my graveyard to special summon that monster in two turns." She grabbed the three Drill Dragon in her deck and put them in the graveyard slot.

"Next, I'll set one monster and one card and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

"In case you were wondering," he started, taking a card out of his pocket. He lifted up the card and showed it to her. "Fissure. That's the card that my teammate left behind. This meant that the weakest one of you would be taken down." he informed her, hoping she managed to understand who he was talking about.

"Anyway, let's move on. I summon Infernity Necromancer!" A skeletal fiend appeared on the field, most of its body covered by a purple robe. A dark aura surrounded the fiend as it sat down and formed a protective shield around itself. (0/2000)

"Next I set two cards on the field and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

As Casey began her turn, she couldn't help but feel suspicious. What she learned from her last duel against him was that his deck worked around having no cards in his hand. Meaning that one of those cards was there to eliminate his entire hand.

"I activate the trap card, Infernity Inferno!" Tueur shouted out. "By discarding two cards from my hand, I can send two Infernity monsters from my deck to the graveyard."

Casey rolled her eyes. She was right. However, this wasn't good news. She could still remember that Infernity Necromancer could summon monsters from the graveyard, so this could mean a lot of trouble.

"I sacrifice my Masked Dragon to summon Silent Swordsman LV5!" Her set Masked Dragon shattered into pieces, which quickly reformed into Silent Swordsman LV5. It was a tall elven warrior with green skin, blonde hair, and a blue coat. His weapon of coice was a large Buster Sword. (2300/1000)

"I set one card, and I'll have Silent Swordsman destroy your Necromancer!" With a quick move, Silent Swordsman effectively cut the fiendish monster in half, severely weakening Tueur's defenses.

"I end my turn." she said with a smirk.

(4000-4000)

Tueur drew one card, and looked at it briefly before setting it on the field. "I simply set one card and end my turn."

(4000-4000)

As Casey began her next turn, she became extremely cautious. The fact that Tueur did so little in this turn, and didn't seem to be bothered by his monster's destruction, meant that she was somehow playing into his hands.

"The effect of Future Fusion activates, allowing me to summon Spike Dragon to the field!" A massive purple-skinned dragon appeared on the field, its wingspan larger than that of a standard plane, and its height rivaled that of some of the buildings around it. (3900/1000)-(4500/1000)

"Just in case you forgot, my Spike Dragon gains two-hundred attack points for each Drill Dragon in my graveyard. Since all three are there, its a six-hundred point boost."

There it was. Tueur was one attack away from losing this duel, and Casey was one attack away from ending this entire war. As much as she couldn't believe it, she had to stop herself from getting too excited. She had dueled Tueur before. He left his field clear of monsters on purpose. He wanted her to attack. Though she didn't know why, she knew she would probably have to. After all, this was her only chance to deal a devastating blow. Of course, she would have to be careful.

"Silent Swordsman, attack him directly!" she commanded. The warrior moved swiftly, aiming for Tueur's chest with a downward slice.

Tueur groaned as the attack hit, just barely able to hold in the pain.

Gritting his teeth, he managed to smirk and utter the following words: "I activate the trap card, Chain of Purgatory."

The trap, it seemed, could only be activated when his opponent attacked him directly. "You should have attacked with your Spike Dragon, because you just fell right into my trap!" Tueur exclaimed. "I can select a card on your field and destroy it. In return, I can special summon an Infernity monster from my hand."

Lightning struck Silent Swordsman, destroying the poor warrior. Then, with a malicious aura, a large, grotesque fiend appeared on Tueur's field. It was Infernity Destroyer, a monster that Casey had some experience fighting. (2300/1000)

"You've already lost enough Life Points, Tueur. This next attack will finish you off! Spike Dragon, destroy his Infernity Destroyer!" Spike Dragon opened its giant maw, charging up a massive breath of fire. With all its strength, it released the molten breath.

"Its over, Tueur! You're done!" Casey stated.

"I activate the trap card, Infernity Force! When you attack one of my Infernity monsters while I hold no cards in my hand, I can not only destroy the attacking monster, but I can also special summon an Infernity monster from my graveyard!"

Spike Dragon's fiery breath hit an invisible barrier. The attack was then reflected back, causing the dragon to roar as the attack hit. It pained the poor creature severely, but all that Tueur saw was the dragon's attack points decreasing to 4300.

"Sorry, Tueur. Once per turn, by removing from play one of the Drill Dragon in my graveyard, I can negate my monster's destruction." she informed him, sighing as she managed to survive that counterattack.

Tueur growled. She managed to stop him, but it wouldn't be for long.

"I activate the spell card, Reinforcements of the Army. This allows me to add a level four or lower Warrior-Type monster from my deck to my hand." A card was ejected from her deck, and she added it to her hand.

"Since I can still normal summon, I summon Marauding Captain to the field." The warrior appeared on the field with glory, prepared to die on the battlefield. (1200/400)

"And when he's summoned, you can special summon another level four or lower monster from your hand." Tueur stated, knowing what she would do.

Casey nodded, and summoned Ghost Gardna, an android made up of various components ranging from organic to metal. (0/1900)

"I end my turn."

(4000-1700)

Tueur drew a card, smiling when he looked at it.

"If I draw Infernity Archfiend when I have no cards in my hand, I can reveal it to you and then special summon it to the field." The monstrous fiend appeared on the field, looking like a mixture of various creatures. (1800/1200)

"When this monster is special summoned, I can add one Infernity monster from my deck to my hand." A card slid out of his deck, and he added it to his hand.

"Infernity Destroyer, attack Marauding Captain!" Infernity Destroyer threw a powerful punch at Marauding Captain. This not only destroyed the warrior, but the resulting explosion knocked Casey on her back, inflicting various wounds upon her.

"What... What happened?" she asked groggily.

"When Infernity Destroyer destroys a monster while I hold no cards in my hand, you take sixteen-hundred points of damage." Tueur explained.

Still lying on the ground, Casey activated one of her trap cards. "I activate The Grave of Enkindling. This allows us both to special summon a monster from our graveyard, but the monster must remain in defense position." she informed him.

Silent Swordsman LV5 appeared on her field, while Infernity Necromancer appeared on Tueur's field.

"Your move."

(2400-1700)

Though she struggled to do so, Casey managed to get back on her feet. She had several lacerations across her body, and she had injured her left shoulder, but she was still able to continue.

She felt weak, but she would not give up. She had the advantage. All she had to do was attack one more time, and she would win. She would finally put an end to all this.

"I activate the equip spell, United We Stand! By equipping it onto my Spike Dragon, its attack points increase by eight-hundred points for each monster on my field." Spike Dragon roared proudly as its attack points increased to 6700, and its defense points increased to 3400.

"Spike Dragon destroy his Infernity Destroyer and end this duel!" This time, there was no stopping her. She knew she had won. Tueur was defenseless. Spike Dragon released its powerful molten breath, eradicating the fiend.

Casey jumped up, celebrating her victory. She saw her opponent's monster be destroyed, and she knew he had no spells or traps to stop her. She was victorious. "Zeke! Wake up! We did it! We won!" she cried out, wanting her friend to celebrate the end of such a terrible war.

Unfortunately, Casey's celebration was premature. She heard a dark and disturbing laugh erupt from the other side of the field, and as the flames moved, she saw Tueur's maniacal and twisted expression as he stood his ground.

"What happened?" she asked, unable to understand why Tueur not only had zero Life Points, but also had a new monster on the field. It looked like a fiendish doll made out of clay. It had an odd design, and multiple eyes. (0/0)

"Did you think you could really defeat me!" Tueur shouted out, his voice sounding like a madman's. "I told you that you wouldn't be winning this! I shall never be defeated! Meet Infernity Zero! When my Life Points are reduced to zero, I can special summon him. As long as he's on the field, I won't lose. Not only that, but it cannot be destroyed by battle or by card effects! The only way you can possibly win is by somehow managing to inflict fifteen-hundred points of damage at once! Face it, you've lost!"

"How desperate are you!" Casey shouted out in anger. "Are you really so obsessed with causing pain and misery to others that you are willing to go to any length to win?"

Tueur's maniacal laugh rang endlessly inside her head. "Of course! I will not allow you Olympians to get your way! This world needs to be destroyed, and I'll make sure of it!"

"Why? Why do you hate this place so much?" she asked him.

"Why? Because of people like you! You preach about how your friends will always be there with you. You believe that they'll always be there to protect you, but those are all lies! Look around you! The only one of your friends that has made it this far is lying on the ground beside you, unable to do anything to help! No one can ever help you, and you deserve to die for being stupid enough to believe that!" he explained.

Casey ended her turn, not sure how to react. Tueur was insane, but there was some truth to what he said. Still, could she believe him? After all, in his desperation to win, he had not only eliminated many of his teammates, but he had also used a card that would allow him to continue to duel despite the fact the his Life Points had reached zero.

(2400-0)

Tueur started his turn, the twisted expression from earlier still on his face.

"I summon Infernity Beetle." The small black beetle appeared on the field, flying around in a habitual fashion. (1200/0)

"I have no cards in my hand, so I can activate Infernity Beetle's effect. It allows me to destroy Infernity Beetle and then special summon two more from my deck." Infernity Beetle shattered into pieces, which then multiplied and took the form of two Infernity Beetle.

"First, I'll start by tuning one of them with Infernity Necromancer and Infernity Archfiend." The beetle turned into two green rings that floated around Infernity Necromancer, who dissolved into three glowing stars, and Infernity Archfiend, who dissolved into four glowing stars.

_"The weight of the world has been lifted off! Finally free of his restraints, the mighty Titan shall obtain vengeance! Destroy the world that has held you back! Synchro Summon! Titanic Deity-Atlas*!"_

Like most Titanic Deities, this one was human. He was a young man, yet he seemed to be fragile. There was anger in his eyes, and he wore a purple robe to hide his skinny body. He wielded a katana, which was tied to his back, and there were a pair of wings coming out of his back. One of them was completely white, while the other was completely black. (3600/2200)

"When Atlas is summoned, I'm able to draw one card for each monster on your field." Tueur smiled evilly as he drew three cards and set them all on the field.

"Next, I'll have Atlas destroy your Silent Swordsman!"

"I use Ghost Gardna's effect. I make him the target, and when he's destroyed, your monster will lose a thousand attack points until the end of the turn!" Atlas attacked the android, but the resulting explosion weakened him. However, Ghost Gardna's destruction caused Spike Dragon's attack points to decrease to 5900, due to the effect of United We Stand.

"Heh. Nice move. I end my turn."

(2400-0)

Casey drew her next card, Pot of Greed.

"I activate Pot of Greed! This allows me to draw two cards!" She drew once again, and then set both cards on the field.

"Spike Dragon, attack Atlas and finish this!" she commanded, hoping that this _would_ finally end. To her horror, it wouldn't. Not yet.

"I activate the counter trap, Negate Attack!" Tueur shouted, effectively stopping Casey's attack and ending her battle phase.

"I end my turn."

(2400-0)

The look on Tueur's face as he began his turn didn't make things any better. The twisted smile resting on his lips meant that he intended to finish this, and he wanted to do that now.

"I summon Infernity Necromancer!" Another Infernity Necromancer appeared on the field, this one quickly switching into defense mode. (0/2000)

"I activate his effect, allowing me to special summon an Infernity monster from my graveyard. I summon Infernity Destroyer!" The tall, hulking fiend appeared on the field once more, not happy to see its executioner. (2300/1000)

"First, I tune Infernity Beetle with Infernity Destroyer." Infernity Beetle turned into two green rings that floated around Infernity Destroyer, who dissolved into six glowing stars.

_"When all hope is lost, take everything with you! Plunge the very world that rejected you into the depths of Hell! Synchro Summon! Appear, Infernity Doom Dragon!"_

The monster, a large dragon with four eyes, a crown made of bones around its head, and three arms appeared on the field. It was as hideous and bloodthirsty as the last time that Casey saw it. (3000/2400)

"I activate my trap card, Infernity Break! By removing from play an Infernity monster in my graveyard, I can destroy your Spike Dragon!"

"I don't think so!" Casey replied. "I use my Spike Dragon's effect, removing a Drill Dragon in my graveyard from play to negate its destruction!" With another Drill Dragon gone, Spike Dragon's attack points dropped to 5700.

"I use the effect of my Infernity Doom Dragon! Since I have no cards in my hand, I can destroy one monster on your field, and you take damage equal to half of that monster's attack points!"

"I use my Spike Dragon's effect once again!" Casey sighed as her monster remained on the field. Casey had walked right into Tueur's trap, and she knew it. Most likely, one of Tueur's set cards was to prevent his monster from being destroyed, which would allow him to reuse Doom Dragon's effect on his next turn.

"Atlas, destroy her Silent Swordsman!" Atlas drew his katana, and with a movement faster than that of Silent Swordsman, he cut the warrior in half.

"I end my turn. Hope you have fun in the afterlife, Casey!" he exclaimed.

(2400-0)

Casey quickly drew a card, and decided to move quickly.

"I activate the trap card, Burst Breath! By destroying one Dragon-Type monster on my field, I can destroy all face-up monsters on the field whose defense is equal to or lower than my dragon's attack points!"

"What!" Tueur exclaimed. "I activate the counter trap, Infernity Barrier. When I have an Infernity monster in attack position and no cards in my hand, and you activate a spell, trap, or monster effect, I can use this card to negate that card's activation and destroy it!" On the inside, Tueur smiled. Though he didn't plan for this specific event to occur, he did believe he might have to use Infernity Barrier at some point.

"Sorry, but that won't be happening!" Casey replied. "I activate the counter trap, Curse of Royal! When you try to destroy a spell or trap, I can activate this card. Not only to does it negate its activation, but it also destroys it! Say goodbye to your monsters!"

Another fiery explosion occured, all the monsters, except for Infernity Zero, were gone. Casey smiled as she succeeded in clearing her opponent's field, but that smile quickly went away as she saw another new monster on her opponent's field. The dark and twisted expression on Tueur's face was back, and he did not seem even the slightest bit happy.

It took Casey a moment, but as she examined her opponent's field, she managed to understand what had happened. At the very last minute, Tueur had used a trap card to summon Atlas' assault mode.

Though Atlas did not turn into a large and frightening monster like many of the other Titanic Deities, he did go through a change. He was no longer skinny. He was young and muscular, at his peak. He now had two pairs of wings, keeping the same color scheme. The wings on one side were white, while the others were black. Though he still wore a purple robe, it seemed to shine brightly. As for his katana, the handle and the guard was covered by a dark aura, while the blade radiated a white light. (4200/1900)

"I told you! You cannot win! It won't even matter if you summon a monster! On my turn, I'll be able to use Atlas' effect to remove from play all cards on your field! You've lost, Casey. You and your friends have officially wasted their lives. They tried to protect you, and now they are gone. Soon, so will you. I was right! People can't protect others if they can't even protect themselves!"

"Shut up!" Casey shouted out, interrupting his insane rant. "My friends gave up their lives to help me stop you. To stop this war! I won't let their sacrifice be in vain! You don't know what its like to see your friends work hard to help you as much as they can, just to have them die and leave you all alone! You are such a hateful person. I'm not surprised you don't know what I've gone through. No one would ever give their life for you!"

It was over. Casey was going to end things now, and make sure this war came to an end. "I activate the continuous trap, Call of the Haunted! I'm going to use it to bring back Spike Dragon!" Spike Dragon appeared on the field, as determined to bring this all to an end as Casey was. (3900/1000)

"Its over for good, Tueur. I activate the quickplay spell, Shrink! This halves your monster's attack points!" A terrified expression now covered Tueur's face as he realized what was about to occur.

With Atlas' attack points now at 2100, Casey commanded Spike Dragon to attack. The two monsters clashed, but in the end, Spike Dragon destroyed the Titanic Deity. Having inflicted 1800 points of damage to Tueur's Life Points, Infernity Zero obtained the three Doom Counters needed to destroy itself. It exploded violently, and the duel came to an end.

Casey sighed in relief, happy to see that it was all over. It was finally over.

Tueur gripped his chest, struggling to stay upright. He was weak, and could barely move, let alone speak. Casey looked at him curiously as he stretched out his hand, trying to reach for something.

Tueur was reaching out, trying to grab hold of a little girl that stood before him. In his final moments, Tueur was hallucinating a young girl, about five years of age. She had shoulder length black hair, and wore a cute pink dress. She stood there before him, smiling at him.

"Lily... I'm so sorry. I... failed you... again. Forgive me..."

**End of Chapter 36.**

* * *

A/N: No preview for the next chapter. I will tell you this, though. This story isn't over yet.

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Titanic Deity-Atlas - Monster Card

Type: Fairy/Synchro

Attribute: Dark

Level: 9

ATK: 3600

DEF: 2200

Effect: When this card is summoned, you can draw one card for each monster on your opponent's side of the field.

* * *

Titanic Deity-Atlas/Assault Mode - Monster Card

Type: Fairy

Attribute: Dark

Level: 10

ATK: 4200

DEF: 1900

Effect: Once per turn, during your main phase, you can pay 1000 Life Points to remove from play every card on your opponent's field.


	37. Chapter 37: Had Enough

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Cure My Tragedy by Cold_

A/N: I didn't include a preview in the previous chapter because I wasn't sure if I would be able to write this chapter as well as I wanted to. However, I think I succeeded and here it is. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 37: Had Enough**

The rain had begun to let up. The deafening sound of heavy rainfall was getting lower and lower, allowing a peaceful silence to dominate the scene.

Covered in thick layers of ice, torn apart by various forces of nature such as earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes, Neo Domino City stood proudly. The remaining buildings stood out among the ruins, proudly proclaiming the victory of the Olympians.

The long, tiring war had finally come to an end. Tueur had been defeated, and Casey and Zeke had made it through to the end.

Now Neo Domino City could return to its previous state. Back to how it used to be, before the arrival of the Titans. No longer would they be forced to fight. No longer would they be forced to bear the weight of the world upon their shoulders. It was finally over, and they couldn't be happier.

Zeke had begun to regain motor functions, but so far, the recovery was slow. He could talk a bit, and move his fingers a bit, but anything more was impossible. Casey sat down next to him, resting his head on her lap. She figured it would at least make him feel a bit more comfortable.

She looked down at him and smiled. "I've never seen you smile that happily." Zeke stated.

She chuckled, putting her hand on his forehead to make sure he didn't have any other problems aside from the temporary paralysis. "You haven't known me that long." she replied. Zeke inferred that she was referring to the years in which she and Matsu lived in the Satellite.

"Why don't you always wear you hair like that?" he asked her. "You always have it tied up in a ponytail."

She brushed her hair away from her face. "Oh, yeah... It was something that Matsu told me once."

Zeke looked at her curiously. "What did he say?"

Casey smiled, her face becoming slightly red. "He... told me it was a shame to cover up such a beautiful face."

Zeke managed to chuckle. "Has he always been so good with words?"

Casey nodded. "Yeah. He has..." She put her hand on the locket around her neck, slowly passing her fingers over it. Not including his deck, that locket was actually the last thing he gave her that she treasured with all her heart.

About ten yards ahead of them, Tueur was lying face-first on the ground, barely able to move. His eyes were closed, and water dripped off his face. He was taking deep breaths, lost in a fantasy inside his head. It was only a moment later that he realized that he was still alive and breathing. He chose not to open his eyes and see, but he decided to make his presence known.

"You guys won..." he muttered.

Casey turned her attention to Tueur, just now noticing that his body hadn't disappeared. Zeke did the same, wondering what Tueur was up to. "Yeah, we did. You guys can no longer hurt the innocent citizens of this city." Casey stated.

Tueur chuckled slightly. "They say that knowing your enemy is an important part of the battle. How well do you know your enemy, Casey?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You have a reason for fighting so hard in this war. So did we. What I want to know is, if you know why we fought." he replied.

Caesy thought about it for a moment. To be quite honest, she had heard what many of her opponents had said, but never actually stopped to think about it. In her defense though, its not as if she had time to spare for such trivialities. However, now that she could reflect on everything that happened, she could probably understand them better.

"You're right." Zeke replied, thinking about his duel against Tobikuma. "I remember. When I dueled Tobikuma, I had asked him that question. He told me that he hated corruption. He loved how the world used to be pure and clean, and hated people for destroying that part of the world. He wanted to protect the world, save it from the people that were out to harm it."

"I didn't know that..." Casey muttered.

"Tobikuma wasn't completely bad. Everything bad that he was doing was terrible, but he had good intentions. He just wanted to save the planet. There are better ways, but still..." Zeke informed her.

Casey thought about her duel against Hikazu. "Hikazu wasn't exactly a good person, and he didn't have good intentions. Though, its not as if he wanted to end up that way. His father was a horrible person, burning buildings and killing innocent people. Worst part is, his father managed to turn him into him. Poor Hikazu ended up as bad as his father..."

Zeke looked up at Casey with interest. "So that's why, huh?"

Casey nodded in reply, and began thinking about her other opponent. "As for Matsu... He did all of this to protect me... He desperately tried to make me stronger, so I would have the strength to defeat the Titans and make sure that the world was safe. He had a lot of faith in me, and he tried hard to make sure I could see this through to the end. It was one of his most annoying habits, the way he did things for me without regards to himself..." she said.

"But that's all we have. We didn't duel anyone else, so we don't know why they fought for the Titans." Zeke informed her.

"Kichigai was a troubled soul." Tueur told them. "He was a victim of the corruption and darkness in this city. Goodwin killed his parents, and then the poor orphan was subjected to experiments by both the Arcadia Movement and Yliaster. Its no wonder he went insane. Especially since they erased every trace of his existence."

"That's just horrible!" Casey exclaimed, not knowing that that was the reason behind Kichigai's actions in her duel against him.

"The girl. Shione was her name. She only joined the Titans because she blamed herself for what happened to Blake. She wanted to win the war on behalf of the Titans so she could have her wish granted. She wished that Blake would be happy, with or without her in his life." Tueur continued.

"Takahiro was obsessed with being successful. He was a Satellite, just like you. He wanted recognition and fame. He thought that if he was a good enough duelist, then people would forget about where he came from and instead focus on who he was. When he was defeated by your friend Blake, he lost it all, and desperately tried to get it back. All he wanted was to be someone."

Zeke and Casey reflected on what Tueur had told them. It was an eye-opening moment. There was so much that they didn't know about their enemies. It seemed less and less like a battle between the good and the evil, and more and more like a battle between different people's hopes and dreams.

"As for Jihl, the girl I fought before you. Well, she was fighting for your friend Matsu." Tueur told her, causing her to suddenly focus all of her attention on him and his words.

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"Years back, you and Matsu had rescued a young girl that was taken hostage by a duelist gang called Team Golem. She was so grateful at what you guys had done that she decided to protect Matsu from anything that could be a threat to him. She could sense that there was good in him, and after having eavesdropped on a few conversations between Shione and Kichigai, she found out what he was truly planning. Since then, she doubled her efforts to protect him, making me her primary target. She even went so far as to confront me after Matsu's defeat, believing that I was behind it."

"Were you?" Zeke asked suspiciously.

"Not at all." Tueur stated, cleverly leaving out the part where Matsu tried to drag him down into the depths of the ocean.

"And where does that leave you?" Zeke asked, not wanting Casey to get caught up in any thoughts involving Matsu and Jihl.

"What?" Tueur asked back, unsure of what Zeke meant.

"Why are _you_ fighting in this war? You've told us everyone's reason for fighting. You are the only one left. How did you end up in all this?" Zeke explained.

"Well, I could tell you. That is, if you don't mind listening while I tell you a story."

They shook their heads, willing to listen to Tueur's story. There was nothing stopping them from stopping for a moment and taking a well-deserved break.

"It all started twelve years ago..."

* * *

The _Jardin du Luxembourg_, french for 'Luxembourg's Garden'. A popular park in Paris, as well as a tourist destination, it is frequently visited by locals and foreigners alike. The park, a beautiful place thats approximately 55 acres in size, is mostly known not only for its beautiful landscape, but also for the Grand Bassin. The Grand Bassin is a large, octagonal pond in the center of the park, where people, usually children, would rent boats and ride them around the pond.

It is here where two people conversed. One was a fourteen-year-old boy with a messy head of red hair. He claimed he was a tourist, and by his foreign appearance, one would usually take his word for it. The other was a young child, about ten years old. He was a poor child, wearing clothes that had obviously not been washed for days, if not weeks. Over the dirt on his face, one could see a few bruises, though they weren't very easy to see.

The two sat down at the edge of the pond, watching the other children ride boats along the center of the pond. The young child, a ten-year-old boy by the name of Raphael Dupont, stuck his hands in the water, cupping his hands and throwing some water over his head, wanting to wash off some of the dirt stuck to his brown hair.

"I can't believe you haven't left yet." stated the red-haired teenager.

Raphael sighed. "I know. Its just... I wouldn't know what to do, you know. I don't think I'd be able to get Lillith anywhere safe." he replied, turning his attention to a young girl playing around not to far from them.

The young girl, Lillith, was merely five-years-old. She lived with her brother, Raphael, and their father. Just like her brother, she ran around in rags, covered in dirt. However, unlike her brother, she was almost always smiling. Despite the troubles she has had, she was able to have a beautiful, innocent smile. Her brother never knew how this was possible, but seeing her happy was enough for him. He didn't have to know.

"I could easily help you with that." the teenager replied.

Raphael shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I'll see what happens first, and if I need any extra help, then I'll ask you."

The teenager nodded. "Alright, man. I'll see you later, then. I have to go. Can't let my mother start to worry about me." he said, putting a hand on the young boy's shoulder before he left.

Raphael stared at the pond for a short while longer, wanting to take in the peace and tranquility of the place for just a while longer. A wise decision, for that would be the last time he'd be able to experience that, at least for quite a while.

"Lillith!" he called, causing his younger sister to run up to him, squeezing the life out of her worn-out ragdoll.

"What is it, Rai?" she asked, looking up at him with a pair of cute little eyes.

"Its time to go home." he answered, a bit of sadness in his voice.

* * *

The scene at their house that night was chaotic. A large, drunken man stood on one side of the room, while a crying, wounded Raphael stood on the other side. Raphael's face was covered in bruises, and had a cut across one of his cheeks.

His father smiled darkly, holding a broken wine bottle in his hand, the broken end pointed at Raphael. "How dare you talk to your own father that way!" his father exclaimed.

Tears fell from Raphael's face, a terrible mixture of feelings in his heart right now. "How dare _you_ call yourself a father! I don't think you've ever done anything to deserve being called that!" he replied.

"What did you say, you little punk! Don't talk back at me as if you are better! I ought to have thrown you out of this place a long time ago! All that working hard to feed your ungrateful mouth! Why should I have to take this!"

"Like your sorry, drunken ass can keep a job anyway!" Raphael cried out, quickly dropping to the floor to avoid the broken wine bottle his father had thrown at him. He could feel the broken shards of glass land on his back after the bottle hit the wall. "Your aim sucks too, old man!" he stated, getting up from the floor.

When he looked up, he saw his father holding up a gun at him. There was rage. Too much of it, in fact. Combined with his habit of excessive drinking, and his father had officially become a threat to himself and all those around him. "You still going to talk like that to me, you little punk! Come on, I dare you!" his father taunted.

Raphael clenched his teeth, and in one swift movement, he took out a gun of his own and pointed it at his father. Unlike his father, this was his first experience with a gun. He couldn't stop his hands from shaking, and deep down, he doubted he could even pull the trigger. At the very least, letting his father know that he was armed would stop him from doing anything rash. His mistake, though, was forgetting who his father was, and how drunk he was.

"Ha! You're pointing that thing at _me_? Like you could ever go through with it! You're just a lousy little punk! A loser, just like your mother!"

"You leave her out of this!" Raphael cried out.

"Or what? You'll follow in her footsteps? You'll kill yourself, just like she did? Ha! You can barely keep that gun steady, and you'll think that you'll be able to kill one of us with it? You're insane!" his father replied.

"_I'm_ insane? _I'm _the one that's insane? Who the fuck points a gun at a child! You deserve nothing more than to die, you abusive, drunken bastard!" Raphael exclaimed.

"Is that so? Then why haven't you pulled the trigger? You're scared, aren't you? Afraid to be a man! Where the Hell did you get that sorry excuse for a gun, anyways? Wait, don't tell me. It was that foreign kid, wasn't it?"

"So what if it was?" Raphael asked.

His father laughed. "I knew it. I told you that kid was bad news. Now you've turned into him. Thinking things will go your way just because you have a gun? I have news for you, son. Things don't work that way!"

"Shut up! Once I kill you, I can finally take Lily out of this place and take her somewhere nice. Somewhere where she doesn't have to live with a poor excuse for a father! Where there's not an abusive, sorry drunk that gets off on hurting his own children! I'll protect her from scum like you!" Raphael shouted out.

Just then, the door had slammed open, young Lillith falling onto the floor. She had been listening all this time, and had accidentally pushed open the door, causing it to fly open. A loud crackling sound was heard, and Lillith had remained on the floor, a small pool of blood now forming beneath her lifeless body.

Raphael stared at his sister's corpse in horror. His father, scared it might have been a cop trying to arrest him for any of his numerous crimes, had fired his gun, accidentally killing his own daughter.

Raphael quickly turned his attention back at his father, his hands no longer trembling. "You monster!" he shouted out, shutting his eyes as he pulled the trigger over and over and over again...

* * *

It was about five in the morning. Raphael sat before the pond as he had done earlier that day, the red-haired teenager sitting beside him. Raphael cried, mourning the death of his sister. "It was horrible! He just shot her! And then... I don't even know what happened. It was all a blur..." he explained to his friend.

"Don't worry, dude. I'll help you out. Just come with me, quickly. We can't let the cops catch us." his friend hurried, acting quite suspicious. He grabbed Raphael's sleeve and pulled, but Raphael refused to move.

"Come on, man! If the police have found the crime scene, they are likely to be looking for you!" the teenager exclaimed, yet Raphael wouldn't move.

"No! Just let me stay here a bit longer!" Raphael replied through tears.

Out of anger, the teenage boy picked him up by the collar of his shirt and lifted him up. "Listen you! If they find us, we'll be in big trouble! We _need_ to get out of here! _Now_!"

Suddenly, bright flashes of light surrounded them, and the sound of sirens quickly filled the air.

"Damn it!" cursed the teenager, dropping Raphael onto the ground.

"Police! We have you surrounded!" they shouted through a megaphone.

The teenager clenched his fist and quickly ran, hoping to escape. Within moments, two cops had pinned him to the ground, while another three grabbed Raphael. The teenager cursed loudly as they picked him up and carried him to the car.

"Guess what, Boss?" said one of the officers. "It turns out that the red-haired kid is a fugitive that's been on our watch list for some weeks now."

"Really?" replied the other officer. "Who is he?"

"A Japanese fugitive named Hikazu Minato. Wanted for various counts of arson, as well as for the murder of his father." stated the previous officer.

Hikazu looked at Raphael as the officers pushed them inside the car. "You bastard!" he shouted, kicking his feet as he tried to escape. "I told you to go! I told you we had to leave! Why the fuck didn't you move!"

Raphael looked at him with a look that expressed despair. In one single night, he had lost his friend, his life, and his younger sister. There was no longer any meaning in his life. He wished _he_ had died as well...

* * *

Raphael sat on a small red couch inside a small room. He stared out the window, as he always did whenever he was in here. He no longer looked the way he did the day the police caught him. He was a bit more cleaned up, no longer covered in dirt and grime. Though he wasn't completely clean, he was in a much better state than he was back then.

In the room, there was a chair opposite of him. There were also a few tables around, as well as various frames on the walls. These frames held up pictures as well as diplomas. Raphael sighed as he waited for the woman to enter the room again. A part of him liked coming here, due to the peace and tranquility it provided. However, another part of him hated being here. He felt no need to see a shrink.

Outside the room, the doctor stood in front of the door, talking to an officer about her patient, Raphael.

"How is the kid?" the officer asked.

"He's better. I feel it will take a very long time for him to truly heal, but he has been making progress." she replied.

"Progress? How much progress?"

The woman thought about it for a moment. "He's calmed down a lot. Sometimes he smiles. That's all though." she answered, sighing. She felt a bit disappointed that she could barely get through to him.

The officer nodded. "Yeah, well. That's a lot of damage to undo in only four years. Give it some time." he reassured her. "Trust me. Just give him some more time, and he might get better."

"I sure hope so. No one deserves to go through what he went through." she said as she entered the room, hoping for a successful session with her patient...

* * *

Raphael was now sitting on a worn-out couch. His hair, which now reached past his shoulders, was covering his face. He wore a stained yellow shirt, a pair of jeans with quite a few tears in them, and an old black sweater. He sat on that couch with a smile on his face that no one had seen since his childhood.

His arms were wrapped around a lovely young woman that was lying next to him. Her name was Samantha, and she was fifteen-years-old. She had beautiful, long yellow hair, and wore clothes as dirty as Raphael's. Her shirt, though dirty, was white, and her jeans also had a similar number of tears as Raphael's. She had met Raphael a few months back, and they quickly connected. They felt something for each other, and it soon turned into love.

Samantha's upbringing was similar to that of Raphael's, the differences being that she was an only child, and her father's drunken rages were unpredictable. Because of this, she always made sure to have Raphael leave the house before her father arrived. She knew of his past, and didn't want to upset him by letting him know about her father. She feared what would happen if he learned of her situation. Though she had no way of knowing what would happen, she could always guess. Unfortunately for her, her guess wasn't far from the truth.

Her father stumbled in suddenly, causing her to push Raphael off the couch and onto the floor. Her father was still drunk and slow, so Samantha told Raphael to hide as her father tried to regain his balance. She stood up in a hurry, standing before the open door that Raphael had been told to hide behind.

"Daddy! Hi! Uh, what are you doing here so early?" she asked, laughing nervously.

Her father eyed her with a drunken look. "What are you acting so suspicious about?"

"Me? I'm not acting suspicious!" she stated nervously.

Her father approached her, moving her out of the way to see past the open door. After a few seconds, her father turned around. "Tch. There's nothing there. What's wrong with you today?" he asked her.

"Nothing, daddy." she replied, with an innocent look on her face.

Her father said nothing, and began to move away, when he saw what was on the coffee table. There were scraps of food, but more importantly, there were two cups, and he could tell they were recently used. "You're not the kind to use a different cup every time you drink something..." he said, looking at her suspiciously. "There was someone here, wasn't there!" her father asked, raising his voice.

She knelt to the floor and covered her ears. She hated when her father started yelling. Raphael stood behind that door, petrified of what would happen if Sam's father caught him there. He stood there, hearing her father yell and curse, with Sam begging him to stop. He wished he could do something, but what? He was too scared to even move.

As the father yelled more and more, Raphael began to get lost in his thoughts. Memories of his confrontation with his own father returned, and he began to lose himself in them. He remembered how he felt that day. His hands began to shake, and it was becoming difficult for him to breathe. He felt like he was back in his house, five years ago. Like he was fighting with his own father, trying to protect his sister.

There was a loud smack, quickly followed by Samantha screaming. He snapped out of his trance, and acting on pure impulse, he leap out from behind the door and punched the drunken bastard, knocking him to the ground. He hurried over to Sam, who was in tears. "Are you okay, Sam?" he asked.

However, she could not reply. She was petrified by the sight of her father, who had quickly gotten back up. "Look out!" she cried, trying to warn Raphael. But it was too late.

Her father had already grabbed hold of his shirt and lifted him up into the air. "You little piece of-! I'm going to kill you!" he threatened, throwing the poor kid against the wall with all his might.

Raphael was lying on the floor, his vision blurry, and his body numb. The last thing he saw before he passed out was Sam's father walking towards him with something in his hands, and Sam hurrying to stop him.

* * *

"...Got a pulse. I think he'll survive. Let's him to the hospital, quickly." said a nearby voice.

Raphael groaned as he opened his eyes, seeing a few paramedics moving him into a van. As they hurried, he managed to overhear the conversation between some officers. "...It was a gruesome sight. The victim had various stab wounds. Based on the blood trail and footprints, we believe it was her father that did this..."

Raphael groaned once more, his head pounding. He couldn't stay conscious anymore. He couldn't stay focused on his surroundings anymore. He was close to death...

* * *

The young man was hiding in an abandoned building outside the edge of town. Few people ever passed through there, so he knew he could be safe here. The length of his hair had remained relatively the same in the past four years, and his clothes were the same ones he wore the day his love died. The day he ran away from the hospital in the middle of treatment. He had hoped that by running away, he wouldn't get better. He had hoped he could die, and finally see an end to the cursed life he was forced to live.

Unfortunately, he didn't. He had healed, and was now in hiding. Though he wore a pair of dark sunglasses, he could still see pretty clearly. In his hands, he held a newspaper. The front page was taken up by an image of a crime scene. The headline read: '_Le Tueur a encore frappé! Troisième victime trouvé!_'

Basically, it said: 'The Killer strikes again! Third victim found!'

The article spoke about a string of murders in the past three years, each one with a similar method of operation. Raphael chuckled as he read it, having torn out the page from the newspaper. After having read it, he crumpled it up and tossed it aside, sighing contentedly. "Ahh... Those cops will always be one step behind." he stated.

"Fortunately, they are going to catch a break. I'm ready to retire, but I still have to end things with a bang..." he said, eying a short article on the newspaper. It talked about a murderer who had just finished undergoing psychiatric treatment, and would now be released. He smiled darkly as he tore out the article and put it in his pocket.

He scanned the area around him for a few minutes, and when he determined that the coast was clear, he ran outside the building. This was the last time he would be there...

* * *

The tall man sighed as he passed through the gates. The years of medication had done a number on him. He was no longer large, like before. He was weak, skinny. His face was pale, and his hands could barely grab hold of anything. He put his hand over his head, unable to see in the smoldering hot sun.

He looked both ways, wondering if there was anyone else that would be picked up today. There was nothing else. Just him, and the cab he had called. With a lonesome sigh, he walked up to the cab, getting in.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked him.

The man thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. Take me to Paris. I think I can find a place to stay in until I get back on my feet."

"Will do." replied the driver.

The man woke up with a start. He was having trouble breathing, and his body temperature was reaching dangerous heights. He looked around quickly, trying to figure out where he was. Aside from the cab, all he could see was sparse land with little to no vegetation. The door on the back part of the cab was ajar, and there was something stuck to it.

The man crawled over to it, almost unable to make it. He lied down on his back, extremely weak and tired. With his tremblilng hand, he grabbed the pieces of paper that were stuck to the door, and looked at them. There were three newspaper clippings. The first one was dated four years ago, and it was about a young girl killed by her drunken father. The second one was recent, and talked about a string of murders. The last one, also recent, was about him, and his release from prison.

"What are these doing here?" the man asked himself.

"I put them there." replied a voice nearby. The man looked around quickly, trying to find the source. All he saw was his cab driver, but there was something else. There was something familiar about the man.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The driver laughed. "Oh, that's right. I'm sorry about that. I forgot. The last time you saw me, you had knocked me against a wall."

The man's eyes just burst open upon hearing this. "You... You're that kid! The one that was at my house that day!"

Raphael laughed once again. "Yep. That's right. Its so nice of you to remember after all these years."

The man began gasping for air. The sun was making it harder and harder to breathe. "What happened? Why are you here?"

The young man smirked. "What happened was that you murdered your own daughter, and then pled insanity to avoid being thrown in jail. That's why you're here. Justice needs to be served." Raphael explained.

"Wait. You don't understand. I'm fine now! They said I can go. I won't hurt anyone, really!" the man pleaded.

Raphael laughed once again, but this time, his laugh sounded more twisted than ever before. He unsheathed a dagger that he had hidden in his sweater, and licked the blade. "Oh, if only you knew how many times I've heard those words before..."

* * *

In less than three hours, the police had arrived, and Raphael was there, waiting. They had pinned him down and cuffed him, dragging him towards the car. "Raphael Dupont, you are under arrest." said one of the officers.

Before he could continue, however, he was interrupted. Raphael began to laugh as darkly and twisted as he had just a few hours before, and smiled at the officers. "Please... Call me... Tueur..."

* * *

Tueur now sat on an old wooden chair, inside a small, darklit room. He was handcuffed to the table, unable to move. It had been three years since he had been caught. Sentenced to life in prison, he had no chance of leaving that place. Not that he wanted too, anyway. There was nothing out there for him. He had nothing better to do than to rot in prison.

The door creaked open, and a man walked into the room, holding a small stack of file folders. He placed them on the table before Tueur, and looked at him. "Do you know who I am?"

Tueur smirked. "Of course. You're that annoying cop who arrested me all those times in the past few years."

The man nodded. "That's correct. Do you know why I am here?"

"I assume its to waste my time." Tueur replied.

"Not at all. I'm here to give you an offer. If you accept it, you'll be out of here." the man stated.

Tueur looked at him in disbelief. "Even if you meant that... There's no reason for me to leave this place."

The man smirked. "What if I told you, you could see your sister again?"

Tueur glared at him angrily. He felt offended, believing that the man was simply taunting him. His sister was dead, and there was no possible chance of him being able to see her again. "Must be sad when even a psychotic murderer thinks that your jokes are a little too dark." he replied.

The man shook his head. "Its not a joke. You really _can_ see your sister again."

"And just how do you propose to do that?" Tueur asked.

The man stared at him for a moment, and then a dark smile appeared on his face. "Tell me. What do you know about... the Titanic Deities?"

* * *

Tueur coughed, finding it hard to breathe. He paused for a moment, and then continued speaking.

"The officer was the recruiter for the Titans. He calls himself Payne. All those years, he had stalked me because he believed I would be a worthy addition to the team. He told me, if I helped the Titans win, then they would grant me a wish. I would be able to see my little sister again. I could finally be with her one more time, and this time, I'd be able to protect her. Protect her, like I failed to do all those years back. But I lost..."

"That's so sad... I had no idea..." Casey whispered. She couldn't excuse Tueur for what he did, but at least now she had some idea of why he did it.

Tueur took a deep breath. "At the very least, I am finally free from this cursed life..." he told them. "Thank you. I just wanted you guys to know... We all make mistakes. Some of us just make one too many..." he stated, his body finally turning into dust...

**End of Chapter 37.**

* * *

_The war has finally come to an end, but its far from over. Casey and Zeke are about to learn what was really at stake, and they'll need to fight one more opponent before things can go back to normal. Can they win, or will their opponent force them to admit defeat? Don't miss the exciting conclusion: Chaos Burst!_

* * *

A/N: To all those of you that have continued to read this story, I appreciate it. The story is wrapping up, and you are about to see how it all ends. I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far. _  
_


	38. Chapter 38: Chaos Burst

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Prayer of the Refugee by Rise Against_

A/N: Sorry for such a long wait, you guys. It was not from a lack of trying. I had actually finished the chapter numerous times, but I felt that the duel lacked sustenance. It is the final duel of the story, so I wanted to make sure it was either the best, or one of the best. Hopefully, this chapter manages to make up for the long wait.

* * *

**Chapter 38: Chaos Burst!**

As they stood there, staring at the man standing by Tueur's ashes, they could tell that things were about to get much worse. They could feel a dark, malicious aura around him, and despite the distance between them, a cold chill ran down to their very core.

The man, with his clean-cut suit, his pair of dark sunglasses, and his bald head, introduced himself as the recruiter for the Titans. He said his name was Payne. However, this was one of his many, many lies. His name wasn't Payne. As for his role in this entire war, 'Recruiter' was an inaccurate title.

His true title was demonstrated by the Fates in the form of a card. A card, much like all the others, that was found in the spot where a Titan perished. Payne showed them a card he picked out from underneath Tueur's ashes. It was a level six fiend named 'Puppet Master'. Payne smirked as the turned the card around to view it.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he asked the Olympians.

"What is?" Zeke asked.

"This card. Its almost as if the Fates knew everything. Makes sense as to why they would refuse to choose sides. If they knew this much, they would have given any side they joined an immense advantage." Payne stated.

"What are you talking about?" Casey asked.

Payne coughed. "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest. You see, my job was to recruit duelists that were powerful enough to defeat you, so that the Titans would win this war. Truth is, I didn't follow my orders as explicitly as I should have."

"What do you mean?" Zeke wondered.

"You see, the duelists I recruit as your opponents were indeed strong, but as your friend Matsuda wished, I made sure that both teams were evenly matched." Payne replied.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because, I _wanted_ the Olympians to win. If I chose weak opponents, the Titans would have caught on to me. That's why I chose people that were powerful enough to test your limits. Test your limits to the point where one of two things would happen: either you break your limits, or your limits break you." he explained.

Casey shook her head. It all seemed so... strange. "So... you wanted your own team to lose?"

Payne nodded. "Yes. That is correct."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" she exclaimed. "If you were on the same side, why would you betray them?"

Payne laughed. "Betray them? Have you learned nothing from your experiences battling against them? The Titans mismatched them from the very beginning. They put the best of the worst on the same team, knowing full well that most of them weren't exactly 'team players'. The result was inevitable. Almost all of them betrayed each other in an effort to satisfy their own personal desires."

"Why did you want the Titans to lose?" Zeke asked bluntly, knowing full well that the man's explanations were just a way for him to waste their time and avoid getting to the real truth, something he learned to notice after his time with Divine.

"Oh!" Payne exclaimed. "A human who likes to get to the point! I like it! Very well. The reason why I wanted them to lose is the same as yours. Because, had they won, this whole world would be thrown into turmoil. Death and famine everywhere. If they weren't stopped, this planet would soon cease to exist."

"Bullshit!" cursed Zeke out of suspicion. "That's not the whole reason, is it?" he asked him. "I don't get a very good feeling from you. I don't know what it is, but something about you makes me believe that there's a different reason for your actions."

Casey looked at him curiously. "Are you sure about that, Zeke?" she asked, unable to confirm her own suspicions.

"Of course, Casey." he replied. "He's right. The Titans betrayed each other for their own reasons. As far as we know, he's exactly like them. Selling out his entire team just for his own goals."

The expression on the man's face changed. He was smiling, but one could feel a malicious aura eminating from him. "Well, you're smarter than I thought. Fortunately, you won't ever know the truth. You see, the war has been won, which means the rules and their penalties no longer apply. This means that I can kill you, and continue on doing as I wish."

Payne stretched out his arms, his palms open. He focused, and with what seemed to be no effort at all on his part, he fired off a dark pulse at Casey and Zeke.

Instinctively, Zeke pulled Casey to the ground with him to shield them from the evil energy that came towards them.

Within the few seconds in which this occurred, something else happened as well. When the energy was mere inches away from them, it collided against an invisible barrier. The barrier, made of air rotating around them, blocked the energy and blasted it away.

Casey and Zeke opened their eyes, only to find Gusto Egul, one of Zeke's monsters, flying around them in a circular motion. "What happened?" Zeke asked, surprised that they were still alive.

He made eye contact with Payne, who looked pretty annoyed. "Your psychic powers saved you, summoning a monster to shield you from my attack. I admit, I didn't think that psychic duelists could reach such an advanced level of their abilities." Payne explained. "If that's the case, then obviously I'll have to kill you using more... common methods. I propose a shadow duel!"

"What if we refuse?" Casey asked.

Payne laughed. "You can't. I won't let you go until you do."

"What do you mean, 'let us go'?" Zeke asked.

Payne spread out his arms, pointing to their surroundings. "Tell me, what do you see here?"

Casey and Zeke looked around, and all they saw was the city as it had become. Frozen landscapes, a giant tree in the very middle of the city, various chasms around the city, etc.

"It hasn't changed back. What's your point?" they asked him.

"You guys see Neo Domino City after the end of a war. I, however, see the truth. I see this world for what it really is, a facade." he replied.

"Are you saying this isn't Neo Domino City?"

Payne nodded. "That's correct!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Don't you guys remember what your Signer friends told you? How they were fighting for the fate of the world as well? Don't you remember how your friend Matsuda stopped Placido from interfering in this war? This _isn't_ Neo Domino City! This... Is... **Pseudo Space**!

"It is another dimension created for the purpose of our war. It is an entire replica of planet Earth. Here, things don't follow the same rules as your dimension. Here, we brought those who would fight in this war, along with quite a large number of civilians. The true purpose of this dimension? Preventing the victors of the war from wreaking havoc around the world, allowing me to do as I please!" he explained.

"The best part of it all? Anyone defeated here, has been completely erased from their own dimension. Where you two come from, no one has ever heard of your friends, or those who were once your enemies!" he stated coldly.

"I knew you had a personal motive for betraying your own team!" Zeke exclaimed. "Let me guess, the reason why you erased them from our dimension was so that they couldn't stop you, right?"

Payne had a surprised look on his face. "I didn't know your psychic powers included telepathy. You took the words right out of my mind." Payne replied. "Oh! What am I thinking of now?" he asked him, pressing his right index finger against the side of his head.

"Stop kidding around! What exactly is it that you want to do that requires you to eliminate all the best duelists in the world?" Zeke demanded to know.

"Chaos! That's what. The best duelists are determined not only by their dueling skills, but also by their ability to control others. It is _impossible_ for me to create chaos in the world if people decide to band together under the orders of a leader!" he explained.

"If the Titans would have done the same, then why did you want them to lose?" Casey asked him.

"There are two reasons. The first is a personal grudge I hold against them. The second, however, is because they would create chaos out of trying to create a new order. Chaos is an art, and it is an art that I have perfected! True chaos, would be a bleak, desolate, and hopeless Earth. An Earth where people live in constant distrust of each other. Parents and children, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors! It would be a world gone mad!"

Casey and Zeke both gasped at his reply. "What kind of person would ever want to live in such a world?" Casey asked.

Payne looked at her with a serious expression on his face. "What kind? The kind that has the power to do so, the right to do so, and yet has it all taken away from him!" he replied.

"What do you mean? Who took it away from you?" Zeke wondered.

"The Titans! I am Khaos! I am _their_ creator! And yet, they think they can just toss me aside and rule as if they had the right! I am their God! They should be bowing down to me, not trying to take a throne that was stolen from right under their undeserving hands!"

"Is that why you did all of this?" Casey exclaimed.

"Of course! It not only allowed me to humiliate the Titans and punish them, but it gave me the chance to get rid of any potential threats!"

"What about the rest of the Olympians? Aren't there more around the world? Or are you telling me that we were the only ones who managed to survive?" Zeke asked.

"Not at all. Actually, there were a few more of you around. However, I had Erebus and Nyx dispose of them. I have to admit, though, that they survived for a reason. They weren't easy to get rid of. Most of them were taken down quite easily, but the last two took Erebus and Nyx with them. Fortunately for me, that means I only have to deal with you two before I finally succeed."

"As if we would let you!" Casey stated.

Khaos stomped the ground, causing the earth to shake, and also causing Casey and Zeke to lose their balance. "Silence! Don't act so high and mighty in front of me! I am Khaos! I am the God of Gods! I am the ruler of all, and you are about to see what I can do!"

A bolt of lightning fell on Khaos, blinding Casey and Zeke for a couple of moments. When they could see again, they saw Khaos' new form standing before them, with a Duel Runner next to him as well.

Khaos had gone through a severe change. Not only was he now almost thrice their height, his body was also incredibly muscular, as opposed to his previous form, which was as tall as them and had a thin build. His dark sunglasses had turned into a black visor, and he now had long black hair tied into dreadlocks. Instead of his suit, he now wore a pair of faded black jeans, steel-toed boots, and a black overcoat.

About twice his size in length, and half his size in height, the Duel Runner had a sleek, yet heavy frame. It had a mixture of black, grey, and silver streaks all over the frame.

"Let's begin!" he commanded in a much deeper and imposing voice. "I'll get rid of the two of you at once, so that maybe you'll last a little longer than a mere turn!" he stated as he sped off into the distance.

Casey and Zeke stood there, mouth agape. Khaos' radical change was a little too much to take in all at once. He was literally a giant, yet they got the feeling that he could still be bigger. Zeke shook his head, trying to stay focused. He nudged Casey, trying to get her to come to her senses.

"What?" she asked him, a little lost. Almost instantly, she remembered what was happening and nodded to him. "Let's get him." she said, determined to win. She put on her helmet and mounted her Duel Runner, with Zeke doing the same.

The moment they turned on their Duel Runners, something strange happened. It began to glow fiercely, and the monitor was showing various data files being opened and searched through. Their decks glowed fiercely as well, confusing them further. Moments later, the monitors went dark. Then, images of various people, most of them unknown, appeared on the screen. The screen sped through each image at lightning-fast speeds, constantly moving from one to another.

Finally, the images stopped, with the image of someone very familiar being the only one on the screen. He wore the same green beret as when he last spoke to them, but instead of wearing his usual military uniform, he wore a white shirt, with holes in the back so that his wings could spread open.

"Brutus!" Casey cried out happily. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

Brutus smiled and nodded. "Sorry I couldn't be there under better circumstances, but I'll explain everything to you later. Right now, though, I need to inform you. According to a secret clause in the contract stating the rules of this war, Khaos has total authority in this dimension. Neither the Gods nor the Titans can stop him from doing as he wishes in here. However, if he is defeated here by one of the Gods or the Titans, or in your case one of the vessels, then he loses all power in here.

"Your friends, as well as all those civilians who got caught in all this, have been erased from your dimension. However, everything about them has been converted into data and has been saved inside your Duel Runners. All you guys have to do is win this duel, and we'll be able to get all of you back. We all have faith in you, and the Gods have your back. You two won't be alone. Now go and defeat Khaos, and finish this mess that he started!"

With that, the monitor returned to its usual state, as if nothing had happened. Casey and Zeke looked at each other and smiled. "Ready to put an end to all this fighting, Casey?"

Casey nodded. "You got that right! Let's go!"

They sped off, trying to catch up with Khaos. In a matter of minutes, they were right behind him.

"I see you two finally showed up!" Khaos exclaimed. "Finally, we can get this duel underway!"

(4000/4000-8000)

Casey and Zeke both looked at the monitor, confused. Though Speed World 2 was activated, it wasn't gaining any speed counters. "What's going on?" she asked Zeke.

"I don't know!" he replied. Just then, the image of the field spell changed. It no longer looked the same. Instead of the image of a light-filled duel lane, it now had an inverted image of skyscrapers. Its name was no longer 'Speed World 2', but rather 'Pseudo Space'.

"I'll tell you what's going on! Like I told you earlier, this is Pseudo Space, a dimension where things work differently than they do in your dimension. Pseudo Space is not only being used to copy the Earth in your dimension, but also to copy your field spell." Khaos explained. "Because of its effect, it can be any field spell I want it to be. So your precious Speed World 2 will no longer be in effect! Prepare to see just how _chaotic_ things can get!"

Khaos drew his sixth card and started his turn. "I'll start by setting a card on the field and ending my turn."

(4000/4000-8000)

Zeke took the second turn, wanting to get an idea of his opponent's strategy. Since Casey had the last turn, she would be able to react to Khaos' moves accordingly.

Zeke didn't have much to work with, but considering the fact that his opponent's field was practically empty, he didn't see this as much of a problem yet. In his hand, he held D.D Crow, Hand of Nephthys, Stealth Bird, Contact With Gusto, Gusto Egul, and Simorgh, Bird of Ancestry.

_'A normal spell in my turbo deck?'_ thought Zeke, finding it strange. _'Could it be... Did Brutus know this would happen? Is this why my deck was glowing?'_ he wondered. _'I'll have to remember to ask him once this is all over. Right now, though, I need to focus.'_

"I'll set a monster on the field, and end my turn." he stated, setting Stealth Bird on the field.

(4000/4000-8000)

"My turn!" Khaos exclaimed as his turn began.

"Witness the power of the true Creator! Since you control a monster and I don't, I can special summon Hieratic Dragon Of Tefnuit from my hand!" With a burst of blinding light, a dragon with pure white skin appeared on the field, most of its body covered in golden armor. (2100/1400)

"Unfortunately, I cannot attack during the turn I special summon him through this effect. I set one card on the field and end my turn."

(4000/4000-8000)

As Casey drew her sixth card and started her turn, she turned to Zeke. "Have you ever heard of those things before?"

Zeke shook his head. "No. Quite honestly, I've never seen anything like them. I suggest you proceed with caution. Who knows what they are capable of!"

"Understood!" Casey replied. She scanned her hand, which contained Wild Tornado, Marauding Captain, Familiar Knight, Obnoxious Celtic Guard, Chivalry, and Torapart.

"I'll set a monster on the field, and set two cards." she stated, having placed Familiar Knight on the field. If this worked, she'd probably be able to synchro summon.

"I end my turn."

(4000/4000-8000)

Khaos drew another card.

"I activate the continuous trap card, Dragon's Rage! This allows my monster to inflict piercing damage! Tefnuit, attack her hidden monster!"

The dragon released a beam of energy from its maw, tearing through Familiar Knight's feeble shield and hitting Casey.

As her Life Points went down, Casey could feel herself getting weaker, an indication of a shadow duel. Fortunately, she had some experience in this and wasn't about to let herself be thrown off her game. "I activate Familiar Knight's effect! When it is destroyed by battle, each player can special summon a level four monster from their hand!"

Khaos smirked. "You got lucky this time, it seems. I have no monster in my hand that fits such a requirement."

"Me neither." stated Zeke.

"Well, I can summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard in defense mode!" The warrior elf appeared on the field, an unbelievable amount of dedication clear on his face. (1400/1200)

Casey smiled. Though she hoped her move would also benefit Zeke, she couldn't ignore the fact that her plan had successfully worked.

"Well, that will be it for my turn."

(4000/3300-8000)

Zeke wondered what to do. Though he had a couple of moves he could do, he wasn't sure what his opponent was hiding with that set card. Still, it wasn't like he could just stop playing until he found out what his opponent had on the field.

It was time to make a choice, and he really hoped that he was making the correct one.

"I flip summon Stealth Bird! When this card is flipped summoned, you take a thousand points of damage!" His set monster appeared on the field with a powerful gust of wind. The bird was blue, but one could that it slowly faded in and out of its surroundings. (700/1700)

"Next, I summon Hand Of Nephthys!" A woman appeared on the field, covered in a gold/red ritual dress. (600/600)

"I activate her effect! By tributing her and another monster on my field, I can special summon the Sacred Phoenix Of Nephthys from my hand or deck!" Both of his monsters went up in flames. The flames spread far and wide before coming to a complete stop and rising into the air. There, it formed into a magnificent, flaming phoenix. (2400/1600)

"Nephthys! Attack his dragon!" Nephthys fired off a powerful fireball from its beak, but Khaos wasn't about to let his opponent gain the upper hand.

"I activate the trap card, Compulsory Evacuation Device! This sends your monster back to your hand!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

Nephthys shrunk into a tiny white ball and floated back to Zeke's hand, while the fireball that was heading towards Tefnuit merely dissipated halfway there.

Zeke looked at his hand and then at his field. All he could do was set one card as a bluff, and then he ended his turn.

(4000/3300-7000)

Khaos' dark smile became even more menacing after he drew his next card.

"I activate the spell card, Trial and Tribulation! Its effect activates on the end of my turn, and depends on the number of monsters tributed during this turn. In addition, I activate the quickplay spell, Super Rejuvenation! This allows me to draw a card at the end of my turn for every Dragon-Type monster that I have discarded or tributed during the turn that I activated this card."

Khaos laughed as the sky became darker than ever before. "You know, I have to thank you two."

"For what?" Zeke asked, distrustful of his opponent.

"For teaching me to always tie up any loose ends. I planned out what would happen with everyone involved in this war to the smallest detail. However, I didn't think you two would get this far, so I never bothered to make sure your deaths came soon enough. Now that I see what a hazard you two are, I'll make sure it never happens again!"

"You planned it out? So you planned for Matsu and everyone else to die?" Zeke questioned him.

"That's correct! They however, knew to follow things exactly as I planned it, even if they weren't aware of what they were doing!" he replied.

"You're a monster..." muttered Casey. "All you seem to care about is spreading death and destruction around the world. Seems to me like you are no better than the Titans. In fact, I'd say that you are _just as bad as they are_!"

Khaos slammed on the brakes, causing his Duel Runner to come to a sudden halt. "You'll pay for that intolerable comparison, you miserable bag of flesh! No one talks to a God that way! Especially not the God of Gods!"

Khaos sped off at Mach 1, nearly decimating the very duel lane he rode on.

"I activate the effect of the Hieratic Dragon of Su in my hand! By tributing a Hieratic dragon, I can special summon it!"

Tefnuit disappeared from the field, replaced by a slightly larger dragon. This one also had golden armor, but its skin was blue. Its red eyes focused upon Zeke as its skin glowed brightly in the darkness that surrounded them. (2200/1000)

"Tefnuit's effect activates! When it is tributed, I can special summon a Dragon-Type normal monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard and make its attack and defense points zero. Appear, Hieratic Seal Of The Sun Dragon Overlord!" An orb about as large as Khaos himself appeared on the field. It was a golden color, had various ancient markings, and its shell seemed to made of some sort of material that was incredibly hard to damage. (0/0)

"I activate Su's effect. By tributing a Hieratic monster from my hand or field, I can destroy one spell or trap card on the field." Khaos discarded a card from his hard, and Su immediately fired an energy orb that destroyed Zeke's set card.

"Su, attack him directly!" The blue dragon fired another energy orb, this time though, at Zeke. Zeke braced himself as the dragon's attack tore not only through his skin, but through his soul. Zeke breathed heavily, trying to regain his senses.

"Now, I'll activate the spell card, Dragonic Tactics! By tributing two Dragon-Type monsters on my field, I can special summon a level eight Dragon-Type monster from my deck!"

Both the orb and Su disappeared from the field, replaced by another orb similar to the one that was tributed. (0/0)

"Say hello to Hieratic Seal of the Dragon King!"

"Why do those monsters have zero attack points?" asked Zeke.

"You'll see soon enough. Now, I activate the effect of Hieratic Dragon Of Su. When it is tributed, I can special summon a Dragon-Type normal monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard. Here comes the Hieratic Seal Of The Sun Dragon Overlord!" Another orb appeared on the field, just like the previously tributed one. (0/0)

"I end my turn, thus activating the effect of Trial and Tribulation. Since three or more cards were tributed this turn, I can destroy up to three face-up cards on the field. Say goodbye to your monster, little girl."

Obnoxious Celtic Guard's eyes widened as he felt something inside him. Within moments, he let out a piercing scream as he shattered into tiny pieces.

"Also, since four monsters were tributed during this turn, Super Rejuvination allows me to draw a card for each. Your move."

(1800/3300-7000)

Casey started her turn. Her hand trembled slightly as she drew her next card. It wasn't because she was facing a powerful monster. No, it was because of the uncertainty. Monsters at such a level with no attack points often have powerful effects. Not these, though. They were simple monsters. She wasn't sure why they had been summoned, or what their purpose was there, but she knew she had to try and get rid of them.

"I summon Marauding Captain to the field!" As always, the famous captain appeared on the field, wielding his two swords. (1200/400)

"His effect activates, allowing me to special summon a level four or lower monster from my hand. I summon Torapart!" The little warrior, trapped in the form of a strange, legless witch doll, appeared on the field. (600/600)

"Now, I'll tune them together!" Torapart turned into two green rings that revolved around Marauding Captain, who dissolved into three stars.

_"The holy knight steps to the plate! Make way for the dragon rider! Synchro Summon! Educated Paladin!"_

A new warrior appeared on the field. This one was dressed in silver armor, mounted on a large, white dragon that wore a silver armor that waws similar to that of it's master. (2100/1000)

"Now I'll equip him with Fighting Spirit! This equip spell increases his attack points by three-hundred points for each monster on your field! Attack his Dragon King!" A bright, radiant aura surrounded Educated Paladin, causing his attack points to increase to 2700.

The paladin's dragon roared as it charged towards the golden sphere, its master on its back. The paladin impaled the sphere with his lance, breaking through to the other side. The sphere exploded violently, causing the debris to hit Khaos.

As Educated Paladin returned to its owner's side of the field, its attack points decreased to 2400.

"I end my turn!"

"Good job, Casey!" stated Zeke, happy to see one of them finally breaking through their opponent's defense.

(1800/3300-4300)

"It seems I have underestimated you two. You've lasted longer than I thought you would. Its no wonder you guys ended up winning this war. However, I've worked far too much on my plans to allow them to fall apart at this point. Years of work led to this moment, and I'll be damned if you two humans ruin that!"

Khaos drew a card, starting his turn.

"Humans are fools. Unity and teamwork, its all useless. It cannot change anything!"

"That's not true!" replied Casey. "It is our bonds that have helped us get this far. Its our bonds that have helped us defeat seemingly unbeatable opponents! Our bonds help us get through anything, and they are represented by our synchro monsters!"

"You fools who praise your ability to synchro summon! You value teamwork and unity, but that can only get you so far. The fact of the matter is, only those with the power to crush all others are the ones that can truly change the world and reform it!" stated Khaos. "Do you think that your teamwork is going to be enough to stop what's coming next? You think your synchro monsters are capable of great things! However, you've barely even scratched the surface of the kind of creatures that exist in this universe! Do you want to see the powerful creatures that exist in this Galaxy? Then I will show you!

"I activate the spell card, Hieratic Seal Of Supremacy! This allows me to special summon a Hieratic monster form my hand, like Hieratic Dragon Of Eset!" Another dragon dressed in golden armor appeared on the field. However, this one had purple skin. (1900/1200)

"I activate its effect! Once per turn, I can target a Dragon-Type normal monster on the field. The levels of all my Hieratic monsters becomes equal to the targeted monster's level until the end of my turn!"

"There's no way he can synchro summon with monsters at those levels!" stated Zeke.

"Only an idiot would be believe I would do something as foolish as summoning a monster as weak and powerless as a synchro monster. No, I aim for something much more powerful!" Khaos replied.

_"Witness the power that dwells in the darkest depths of the universe! With these two monsters, I construct the overlay network! Exceed Summon! Arise, Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord Of Heliopolis!"_

Everything went silent. Bolts of lightning hit the ground repeatedly. The ground began to shake. Cracks appeared in the middle of the sky, spreading quickly across the entire realm. A silent shockwave tore everything around Casey and Zeke to pieces, leaving only the dueling lane on which they were. Everything around the lane was gone. All that remained was an eerie darkness that surrounded them.

Then, without warning, a pair large red eyes appeared high in front of them. In the blink of an eye, a humongous creature appeared before them, its size enough to dwarf even the mightiest of the Titanic Deities in their true form. Closer inspection revealed the creature to be a dragon with glowing red skin, covered in golden armor like the rest of Khaos' monsters. (3000/2400)

Casey and Zeke stared at the massive creature in shock. Their hands trembled, and their hearts beat slowly. A feeling of impending doom and despair ran through their bodies. They breathed slowly, though they felt like they were simply gasping for air. As the creature looked down at them, they could feel their heart skip a few beats. For a moment, it felt as if they were dead.

"Wha-what is that thing!" Zeke managed to cry out, though he was unable to mask his fear.

Khaos laughed evilly, enjoying the fear in his opponent's voice. "This is an Exceed Monster! One of the many creatures that exist in the very center of this Galaxy! You think that strength and unity shall lead you to victory, but here stands the truth! Only by devouring your enemy's power can you truly have power. The power to not only destroy, but to create! It far surpasses the abilities of your synchro monsters, and it doesn't even require a tuner. Just two monsters as a sacrifice. Best of all, it doesn't have a level. Creatures such as this have a rank that determines their power. As if that wasn't enough, it can only be destroyed through battle with another Exceed Monster."

"How can such a thing exist?" asked Casey, fear just as present in her voice as it was in Zeke's.

"That, unfortunately, is not a matter for you. Overlord of Heliopolis, attack her Educated Paladin!" The massive creature opened its maw, released a blast of red energy that flew towards Educated Paladin.

"I activate the effect of Fighting Spirit, sacrificing it to prevent my monster from being destroyed!" Paladin stood his ground, his lance firmly held in his hands. The attack collided with Paladin's lance, creating a powerful shockwave that hit Casey head-on.

Once again, Casey felt like her heart had skipped a few beats. She felt like she was dead. More accurately, she couldn't feel or hear anything at all. Everything had gone completely dark. She was no longer on a Duel Runner, her friend Zeke was no longer by her side, and there were no more monsters fighting each other. It was just her and only her.

After what seemed like hours, she finally felt something. Something cold and wet ran down her cheek. It was a tear. She dropped to her knees and began to cry. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I've let you guys down! Blake, Akira, Zeke... Matsu. I'm sorry I let all of you down. Khaos... He's just too powerful!"

She wiped the tears away. "Great. I'm crying again... I do that too much. Just like relying on you guys. Sometimes, I wonder if I really can do anything by myself."

She looked up, finding herself at the docks in Satellite. The day was cloudy, and the waters were eerily calm. She watched the horizon sadly, lost in her own thoughts.

"That's a stupid question." stated a familiar voice.

She turned to her right, and saw Matsu standing next to her. "Matsu? What are you doing here? What happened? Did... Did I lose?"

Matsu chuckled. "You will with that attitude." he told her. "No, you haven't lost yet."

"Then, what's going on?" she asked.

Matsu sighed. "You are fully capable of doing things by yourself, Casey."

"Then why-?"

"But you are looking at this the wrong way." Matsu continued, cutting her off. "This is not something you can handle yourself. You need help. Khaos is too powerful to be defeated by one lone duelist. This is why you and Zeke made it this far. The two of you can defeat him."

"And if that's not enough?" she asked.

Matsu knelled down, looked into her eyes, and smiled. "We'll help you guys out." he said, leaning in and kissing her.

Casey closed her eyes, taking in the kiss completely. Though it was only for a moment, she felt it lasted for years. She opened her eyes, finding herself back on the battlefield. Paladin had fired off a powerful light through his lance that tore apart the exceed monster's attack.

"...sey. Casey. Casey! Are you alright?" she heard, her hearing slowly coming back. She turned to Zeke, and nodded. "I'll be fine!"

"So you've survived to duel for another turn. I can guarantee you that you won't that lucky again!" stated Khaos. "I end my turn!"

(1800/2600-4300)

"That's what you think!" exclaimed Zeke as he began his turn.

"I summon Harpie Lady #3!" The third of the Harpie Lady Sisters appeared on the field, in the diva pose that was common among these famous harpies. (1300/1400)

"We can't risk two empty fields, Casey. From here on, it'll be up to you!"

"Zeke, wait! What are you planning to do?"

Zeke pointed at the over-sized creature that floated in the darkness around them. "Harpie Lady, attack!"

"Zeke, don't!"

Khaos laughed. "Have you finally understood that you cannot win? Then go ahead! Destroy yourself!"

Harpie Lady flew at high speeds towards her target, but that wasn't enough. The dragon opened its maw and released a vicious beam of red energy at both Harpie Lady and Zeke. Harpie Lady was swallowed up by the attack, and there was not a single trace of her left. The attack continued, hitting Zeke directly.

Casey heard Zeke scream as the attack swallowed him up, followed by the sound of his Duel Runner exploding.

"Zeke!" Casey cried out in vain. The smoke from the explosion had cleared, and revealed a massive hole in the lane, in the spot where Zeke had been hit. There was nothing left.

"So, you feel like following in your suicidal friend's footsteps?" Khaos asked her.

Casey looked at him, anger clear in her eyes. "You'll pay for that!"

"I doubt I will! Especially since it is now officially my turn." replied Khaos.

(100/2600-4300)

Khaos smiled as he began his turn, not even bothering to look at the card he had drawn.

"Dragon Overlord, destroy her monster!" Khaos commanded.

However, nothing occurred.

"What? Why won't it attack?"

Khaos looked at his monster, only to find that there was another creature on top of the monster's head. Upon closer inspection, he noticed it was the monster that Dragon Overlord had previously destroyed. "What! Why is that thing still on the field!" exclaimed Khaos.

"When Harpie Lady battles a monster, the monster that battles with her cannot attack for two turns." explained Casey.

"I see..." mumbled Khaos as he grit his teeth.

"Oh well, that won't stop me. I activate the effect of my monster. By detaching one of the exceed materials, I can tribute at least one monster from my hand to destroy a card on the field." Khaos discarded a card from his hand. "I'll destroy the set card you have on the right."

Dragon Overlord roared, creating a shockwave so powerful that Casey's trap card shattered. However, that merely caused a powerful tornado to appear on the field and destroy Khaos' Dragon's Rage trap card.

"Since you destroyed my Wild Tornado trap card, its effect activated, allowing me to destroy a face-up card on the field. Since your monster couldn't be destroyed, I decided to go after your trap card." Casey explained, knowing Khaos would demand an explanation.

"Clever little girl... Well, I guess that's it for this turn. Count the seconds, because your demise is close. I set a card and end my turn."

(100/2600-4300)

A chill ran down Casey's spine as she touched her deck. Something was causing it to glow. As she touched it again, she felt something. It wasn't a chill, though. No, this time, it was something very different. Different, but familiar. As she touched the top card, she felt happy, unafraid.

She drew the card and looked at it. It was the spell card, Educated Draw.

"I activate the spell card, Educated Draw. This allows me to pick up the top six cards of my deck and look at them. Then, I can add three of those cards to my hand, and remove the others from play."

She picked up the top six cards and looked through them. They were: Educated Spellcaster, Gift Of The Martyr, Apollo's Chariot*, Advanced Spellbook, Command Knight, Megamorph.

She took three of them and put them in her pocket, adding the other three to her hand.

"You pride yourself on having power. You look down on us for creating bonds and displaying them. You say we are weak for relying on others. Yet, it is that very thing that will be your downfall!" stated Casey.

"You must have lost your mind, girl! Go ahead, I'd love to see the look on your face when you fall flat on your face!" replied Khaos.

"I summon Educated Spellcaster!" The small spellcaster appeared on the field, his large, pointy hat covering most of his face. (1000/100)

"His effect activates, allowing me to special summon a level four or lower monster from my graveyard, though its effect is negated. Come on out, Marauding Captain!" The battle-scarred warrior appeared on the field, next to Educated Spellcaster. However, he was less than battle-ready this time. (1200/400)

"You don't seem to understand the amount of power that comes from teamwork, but I'll show you soon enough! I tune Educated Spellcaster to Marauding Captain!" Educated Spellcaster turned into three green rings that revolved around Marauding Captain, who dissolved into three glowing stars.

_"Magic and strength work together! Combine your powers and become an unstoppable force! Synchro summon! Shine, Educated Knight!"_

The shining knight appeared on the field triumphantly, wielding his unbreakable shield and his magical sword.

"This is the power left to me by my friends. And its what is going to take you down!"

"Neither of those monsters has enough attack points to take on my monster, and even if they did, they can't destroy it!" Khaos reminded her.

"That wasn't my intention. I activate the spell card, Gift of the Martyr! This allows me to sacrifice one of my monsters, and give his attack points to another one of my monsters. I sacrifice my Educated Knight, and donate his attack points to my Educated Paladin!"

Educated Knight became a small, bright orb that was devoured by Paladin's dragon. The dragon roared as both it and its master glowed brightly, causing Paladin's attack points to increase to 4700.

Khaos couldn't help but laugh. _'That effect will only work until the end of the turn. Of course, her monster won't even get through the battle phase.'_

"Next, I activate the equip spell, Apollo's Chariot, and equip it onto Educated Paladin! Thanks to this, I can remove from play up to five monsters from my graveyard!" She removed from play her Educated Spellcaster, Familiar Knight, Marauding Captain, Obnoxious Celtic Guard, and Torapart.

"Then, for this turn only, my monster gains an additional attack for each tuner that I removed from play! Paladin, attack!"

"You think you can beat me with that? Please! I activate the trap card, Magic Cylinder!" countered Khaos, but the trap card would not activate.

"Sorry, Khaos." said Casey, a determined look on her face. "A synchro monster that used Torapart as a tuner prevents you from activating trap cards until after its attack is finished!"

Educated Paladin rose high above them. He lifted up his lance, which began to glow brightly as sparks of white electricity crackled wildly around it. He pointed the beam at his opponent, Hieratic Sun Dragon Overlord Of Heliopolis. The lance fired a powerful beam of energy that divided into three halfway towards its target.

"I don't think so! I activate the effect of the Honest in my hand! This increases my monsters attack points by an amount equal to that of your monster's!" Khaos stated triumphantly.

"Not a chance!" replied Casey. "I activate the counter trap, Chivalry! This negates the activation of an effect monster's effect that activates during the battle phase and then destroys that card!"

Khaos' Honest shattered right in his hand, and he watched helplessly as Casey's attack connected. "No! I will not allow my plan to be derailed by such insignificant creatures like you! You are below me! I am the true Creator of this universe! I cannot be vanquished!"

Khaos' rant continued only for a few more seconds, until the parts of the beam that were reflected by his monster hit him instead. Khaos screamed as the attack hit him. He could feel the power of Casey's bond with her friends surging through his body, tearing him apart.

Not long after, his Duel Runner exploded as well, leaving no trace of him or his monster.

Casey continued driving, Educated Paladin and his dragon flying by her side. The paladin pointed his lance forward, causing a light to appear at the end of the lane. Casey sped up, driving through the portal that seemed to be created by her monster.

She closed her eyes as she went through, the light being too strong and practically blinding her.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself on the same duel lane. Of course, it wasn't in the same place. She could see Neo Domino ahead of her, and could hear the sound of various turbo duelists that were nearby. She could feel the wind blowing through her hair, and she no longer felt that terrible darkness that called itself Khaos.

She slowed to stop, and let herself take in the moment. She let herself rest for a bit, something that she definitely deserved after such a battle.

"Good job." said a voice from behind.

Casey quickly turned around, a huge smile on her face as she had recognized the voice. "Brutus!"

Brutus smiled back. "Good to see you, Casey. I see you managed to defeat Khaos."

Casey nodded. "So, what happens now?" she asked him.

"Now, we hold up our end of the bargain. All those who fought for the Olympians shall be brought back to life, and you will all be able to return to your regular lives." he replied. "You, however, were the only one who made it out alive. In that case, you are the only one who manages to get a wish granted. Tell us, what do you want?"

Casey was quiet for a moment. "What about those who worked for the Titans?"

Now it was Brutus' turn to be quiet. He knew she wanted to know what would happen to Matsu. "Unfortunately, they lost. According to the deal that we made, they will not be brought back to life."

Casey sighed deeply. It was a bittersweet victory. She could use her wish to bring Matsu back to life, but that didn't feel right. As much as she loved Matsu, he did what he did to make sure that she made it this far. Also, she couldn't forget about the other Titans. Like Amber. What would Blake do without her?

After having thought about it for some time, she sighed deeply once again and made her choice.

"My wish... Those who were members of the Titans were members because of Khaos' interference. Had it not been for him, they might not have become our opponents. I wish that their lives were different. That they lived a life free from Khaos' interference."

**End of Chapter 38.**

* * *

**-CARD ALBUM-**

Apollo's Chariot - Spell Card

Type: Equip

Effect: When this card is equipped to a monster, you can remove from play up to five monsters from your graveyard. For this turn only, the equipped monster gains an additional attack for each tuner monster that was removed from play through this card's effect.


	39. Chapter 39: Epilogue

**Disclaimer: I only own the characters that I made up for this story. Everything else is property of its respective owner and I take no credit for it. I do own a few of the cards and those will be marked with a (*).**

_Theme Song: Simple and Clean by Utada Hikaru_

A/N: As a special treat for making you guys wait so long, I uploaded both chapter 38 and the epilogue at the same time. Thanks for staying with me until now. I really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 39: Epilogue**

The day shone brightly. There was not a dark cloud in sight. The man stood before the glass windows of his office, staring out at the city below. He had short black hair, and wore a fancy black suit. As he looked at the horizon, he couldn't help but smile.

He turned around and looked at his office. A large desk, a top-of-the-line computer, and more space than he could even need. There was even a private bathroom for him to use. He walked over to the desk, and picked up his ID card. He sat down in his desk chair and stared at it for a few minutes. He shook his head and smiled once again.

"Never thought I'd see the day." the man said to himself.

He laughed happily as he thought about all the things he would be able to do. With this job, he not only had to make important decisions for the company, but he would also be working on all their projects.

Once again, he looked at his ID card. This time, however, he read the contents out loud. "Akira Takamori, Chief Engineer of Excell Tech, Inc."

He laughed and looked at the clock. "Oh, its almost time for me to punch out. Good. I was hoping I'd be able to see the gang before they leave!"

He grabbed his ID card, pinned it to his collar, and headed out the door. First, he had to make a quick stop in R&D to make sure that everything was on track, but after that, he would move as fast as he could to Cafe la Geen, where they would be meeting.

* * *

Zeke stood outside a tall, abandoned building, just feet away from his Duel Runner. In minutes, he lost himself in memories related to his time here.

He gripped a yellow folder that he had been carrying all day, and kept looking at the building. His emotions always did run high whenever he was here. He took a deep breath and focused on the matter at hand. Getting emotional was not a favorable thing right now.

He sighed as he looked at his watch, soon after looking around. He shook his head. He had arrived a little earlier than he should have, but that was more than a half hour ago. The man should have been here by now.

"I swear, if he..." started Zeke, cutting himself off when he heard a car approaching. He stood straight as the limousine came to a complete stop in front of him. The driver got out and opened the passenger's door. Out came a tall, well-dressed man.

The man walked over to Zeke and shook his hand. "Sorry I'm late. Traffic was terrible."

"Isn't it always?" Zeke replied, causing both of them to laugh as they made small talk.

The man cleared his throat and continued. "Well, I have the documents here. All you need to do is sign a few papers, and the building is yours."

"Really?" asked Zeke. "I'm surprised. I thought it was impossible to get my parents' money unfrozen."

The man chuckled. "That's why you hired me, remember? The best lawyer in Neo Domino City. Like I told you, if I couldn't get it done, then no one could."

"Glad I decided to hire you, then." replied Zeke.

"You and me both. You know, I've been meaning to ask. Why do you want to buy this building? After all that happened to you here, and all that has happened to others due to the actions of its previous owner, I would think that you of all people would want this place torn down, not reopened."

"It is because of what happened to me that I want to reopen it." Zeke replied. "The Arcadia Movement building may have had a rotten owner, but it isn't necessarily bad. The idea of helping psychic duelists control their power and help them fit in is a good one, and its an ideal that I intend to uphold as the leader of the Neo Arcadia Movement."

"Sounds like a dream, but I've seen what you can do. If anyone can pull it off, I think it might be you. Still, you don't think that this place has too much bad history?"

Zeke smiled and turned to the building. "Nothing is ever so bad that it can't do some good."

* * *

The machine spun around, emitting an array of colors throughout the room. The scientists cheered as they reported stable readings throughout the entire reactor.

"We did it!" screamed one of them.

"It works! It actually works!" screamed another.

As the various scientists grouped together and celebrated, their chief researcher left the room. He sighed heavily as he took off his coat and hung it up. He smiled, pleased with his team's progress and the results of their new reactor. He had spent many years as a simple assistant, so he couldn't believe he could pull this project off when they offered it to him. Still, he took it, and surprised even himself.

As he walked through the hallways, his phone began to ring. He answered it, changing his course to the building's main entrance.

"Yeah. I know. Its in a few hours. Just make sure to bring the stuff. Haha, just tell them to hang on. I'll tell you guys all about it when we get together, alright? Good. See you then."

As he walked through the lobby, he made his way towards one of the clerks that worked the front desk. "Hey, what the boss say?" he asked her.

"About what?"

"About the internship. Did my friend get it?"

The woman laughed. "Of course! Why did you think he wouldn't?"

"Well, you know how he is. He's not a big fan of hiring an employee's friend. He thinks those guys should earn the job themselves."

"Oh, but your friend's resume was great!" she replied. "In fact, the only thing that put him over the top was your letter of recommendation, Dr. Minato."

The man laughed. "Please, you know I don't like being so formal. It makes me feel kind of old. Just call me Hikazu."

"Will do." the clerk replied.

"Well, I have to go. Thanks for telling me." said Hikazu as he headed out the front door, moving his fingers through his long red hair.

"Probably should get a haircut..." he muttered to himself.

* * *

The downtown district of Neo Domino City was as full as ever. People pushed each other aside in search of good deals or the remaining items on their shopping lists. One such person was a young man, who searched through a variety of stands in search of lovely necklace.

"I don't know..." he said, unsure of the quality of the merchandise.

He had been shopping all day, mostly in search of a few things he needed for his schoolwork. Of course, he had managed to find them all about an hour ago. Now, he was searching for a gift.

"I got it, Onee-chan!" shouted a nearby voice.

The man looked around and saw a young girl, about seventeen years old. She was beautiful, and wore a lovely red dress as she helped her brother shop around. She was carrying a slightly heavy bag full of snacks in one hand, and held an apple that she was eating in her other hand.

She walked up to her brother with a smile on her face, happy not just to be with him, but also that she was able to get all the necessary snacks.

"That looks like a lot of food, Lillith."

"Of course, Rai! You and Minato seem to be bottomless pits! And we need to eat too!" she replied.

"Right, right." he replied.

"So, what are you looking for now?" she asked him.

"Oh, just a gift."

"Then hurry it up, Rai. We are running low on time, and Sam wants us there before Minato so she can set everything up! So, move!" she said, trying to make her brother hurry up.

"Alright, I get you. Just give me a few more minutes. Besides, I wanted to stop by the university and hand in my thesis." Raphael told her.

"Then we need to leave now!" she replied, grabbing his arm and pulling him away.

"No! I think I saw something good! Sis, please!"

"But I want to know if you got your internship!"

As Lillith pulled her brother away and made him focus on their current tasks, a young man entered the area handing out flyers.

"Support a green Neo Domino! Don't allow our parks to be destroyed!" chanted the young man, trying to raise awareness for the protection of the city park.

"Hey, you!" shouted a merchant, throwing a rock at the young man. "Didn't I tell you to stop promoting your tree-hugging antics around here? You are scaring away my customers!"

The man had dodged the rock and stormed over to the merchant. "Seems like the only thing scaring them away is your wrinkly face, Old Man!"

"What did you say to me, you little hippie?" asked the man, trying to grab the young man by the collar of his shirt.

"You heard me. Or maybe they're just scared away by your sub-par merchandise!"

The merchant's face became a dark red color. "That's it! I've had it up to here with you, Tobikuma! If you don't get out of here right now, I'm calling Security!"

"Not man enough to take me on yourself, huh?" replied Tobikuma. "Maybe you should lay off the chips, fatty!"

"That's it! I'm going to murder you, you little hippie!" exclaimed the old man as he chased after Tobikuma, leaving his stand unguarded.

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, two Sector Security officers were overseeing a crime scene. They had been able to apprehend the criminals responsible, but they still had to search the warehouse for the stolen Duel Runner equipment.

The two congratulated each other on a job well done. Though they had yet to make sure all the stolen equipment was there, they were happy to have caught the criminals behind all the thefts.

"Well, we'd best start searching the place. Don't want to work overtime." said the man.

"I agree. Of course, its not like I have anywhere to go after this." she replied.

"Really? Weren't you going to see Kaiba Korp's new duelist duel in his first pro match?" he asked her.

She chuckled. "Takahiro's good, but I've seen his moves many times, Kichigai. Just like his charm, it only works on some opponents."

"Last I heard, they worked on you." Kichigai replied.

"Yes, well... Shouldn't we be searching?" she asked, changing the subject as she tried to her blushing with her hair.

* * *

Far off in a deserted country side, two men stood before a broken down warehouse. One of the men was tall and heavy, while the other was a pretty short man.

The short one looked up and breathed deeply. "Ah! Don't you smell that? It smells like success!"

The tall, heavy man laughed. "Yeah. I can almost see it too. I think we can make this work. Just imagine how great its going to be when this place is finally up and running."

"So what should we call it? Greuto and Crusher's Repair Shop? Junkyard Auto Repair?" asked the short man.

"I think we should probably save the naming for later, Greuto. For now, we should prbably focus on getting the place fixed up."

"I see your point, Crusher. How long do you think this'll take us?"

Crusher shook his head. "I don't know. I'd give it six months, give or take."

Greuto let out a sigh of relief. "Didn't ever think we'd get this far. Its nice to see things working out for us for a change."

"I know what you mean, my friend."

* * *

Out on a narrow airstrip, two people ran towards a small plane, with a group of people chasing after them with cameras and microphones. Though the two tried hard to outrun them, the group caught up to them and surrounded them as they were mere steps away from getting on the plane.

Reporters bombarded them with questions, and flashes of light from their cameras blinded the poor couple.

"Quiet!" screamed the girl, causing the reporters to shut up. She brushed the hair away from her face and sunglasses.

"Please. One question at a time! We will answer a few of your questions, but we do need to leave in a few minutes! You, sir! What is your question?"

"We heard that Mr. Anderson will be joining the English Pro Dueling League! How does it feel to be seen as an actual pro duelist?" asked one of the reporters.

"It feels great. Honestly, I've fought against former pros, and I can't wait to see what this league has in store." Blake replied.

"We have also heard rumors of your engagement to Miss Amber. How much of this is true?" asked a female reporter.

"Very true." stated Amber with a smile on her face, showing them the ring on her finger.

"What do you have to say about Miss Lee's allegations that she is your one true love?" a male reporter asked Blake.

Amber quickly grabbed the man by his shirt pulled him close to her, his camera wedged between him and Amber. "You tell that psycho to stay away from him, or I'll punch every one of her teeth out of her mouth!" she exclaimed, shaking the man violently until he got disoriented.

"Okay! I think that's enough questions for now! Thanks for your time, bye!" said Blake as he had to forcefully pull Amber into the plane. Had he not done so, the safety of the reporter could not be guaranteed.

As the bodyguard closed the door and Blake strapped Amber in, the plane took off.

"Sorry about that, I just don't like reporters and their big mouths." she said, apologizing for her behavior.

"Its alright." he replied. laughing. "Just relax. We are on our way to London now. In the meantime, we won't be driving, we have a personal chef, and some of England's best wine. What do you say we have a little dinner here, just the two of us?"

Amber smiled at him. "I like the way you think." she said, putting her arms around him and pulling him in close as she kissed him.

* * *

"Oh, hi!" greeted Casey, moving out of the way so that Kira could enter the apartment.

"Thanks for calling and telling me before I got to the cafe. I didn't know you changed locations. I haven't missed it yet, have I?" he asked her as he sat down on the couch.

"Oh, no. Its about to start in a few minutes. They were supposed to have a little interview before they left, but their flight got moved up. So, the reporters are chasing after them." she said, laughing.

"Oh my god! Poor Blake can't catch a break, huh?"

Just then, Matsu walked in from the kitchen, snacks in hand. He tossed a large bag of chips at Kira, while he took a box of donuts and offered some to Casey as he sat down next to her.

"Thanks." she said, kissing him on the cheek.

"So, Kira, I heard you started your new job today. how did it go?" Casey asked.

"It was fantastic! I love that place! I get to do so much. Not only do I get to think up of new projects, I can also work on the development of the new equipment." he answered. "What about you guys? I heard you've been trying out for the new Turbo Dueling tournament."

"Yeah. We are aiming to win it, but we hear the competition is going to be brutal. We'll need to be at our best." replied Matsu. "A lot of these guys don't play around, but neither do we."

"And you are sure that just you and Casey can handle them? It is supposed to be a three person team, after all."

"I'm confident Casey and I can win this ourselves. Isn't that right, Casey?"

"Yup!" she replied, taking another bit into her donut. "So, I heard the CEO of your company was fired a few days ago. Who'd they get to replace him?"

"The former Chief Engineer of Research and Development, Trent Smith." answered Kira.

"Oh, that's great! We should get him a gift! He was so helpful to-! Shush! The reporters caught up to them!" stated Casey, pointing at the tv where reporters surrounded Blake and Amber.

**End of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: Titanic Impact.**

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the story! I had a lot of fun writing it, and hope that you guys had just as much fun reading it. Things, however, must come to an end at some point. Thanks for being with me until now.


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